Mittendorf's dot


dot

 [dot] a small spot or speck.Gunn's d's white dots seen around the macula lutea on oblique illumination.Maurer's d's irregular dots that stain red with Leishman's stain, seen in erythrocytes infected with Plasmodium falciparum.Mittendorf's dot a congenital anomaly of the eye manifested as a small gray or white opacity just inferior and nasal to the posterior pole of the lens, representing the remains of the lenticular attachment of the hyaloid artery; it does not affect vision.Schüffner's d's small granules seen in erythrocytes infected with the malarial parasite Plasmodium vivax when stained by certain methods. Called also Schüffner's granules.Trantas' d's small white calcareous looking dots in the limbs of the conjunctiva in vernal conjunctivitis.

hyaloid remnant

A rare condition in which there remain some parts of the hyaloid artery. Posteriorly there may be a vascular loop or the thread of an obliterated vessel running forward from the optic disc and floating freely in the vitreous. Anteriorly there may be some fibrous remnants attached to the posterior lens capsule and others sometimes floating in the vitreous. The anterior attachment of the hyaloid artery to the lens may also remain throughout life as a black dot, called Mittendorf's dot, and can be seen within the pupil by direct ophthalmoscopy (it appears as a white dot with the biomicroscope). There is rarely any visual interference although patients may sometimes report seeing muscae volitantes. Syn. persistent hyaloid artery. See hyaloid canal; Bergmeister's papilla; pseudopapilloedema; persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous.