uveitis

DEFINITION of uveitis

uveitis is inflammation of the uvea—the middle vascular layer of the eye (iris, ciliary body, choroid)—threatening vision if untreated. Uveitis encompasses intraocular inflammation primarily affecting the uvea (iris/ciliary anteriorly, vitreous/pars plana intermediately, choroid/retina posteriorly, or all layers in panuveitis), presenting acutely (hours-weeks) or chronically (>3 months) with cells/flare in anterior chamber/vitreous, synechiae, cystoid macular edema (CME), or retinal vasculitis; idiopathic (~50%) or associated with HLA-B27 spondyloarthropathies, JIA, sarcoidosis, infections (HSV, TB, toxoplasmosis), or masquerade syndromes (lymphoma).

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ETYMOLOGY of uveitis

latin • Uvea: Medieval Latin uva = “grape” (resemblance of pigmented choroid to grape skin). • -itis: Greek = “inflammation.” • Literal: “Grape inflammation” (coined 19th century)

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DERIVATIONS of uveitis

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Query functionality

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Coding Context

ICD-10-CM:[10]

Code	Description
H20.9	Unspecified Iridocyclitis (anterior uveitis).
H30.9	Unspecified uveitis (posterior).
H21.9	Unspecified disorder of iris/ciliary body.
H44.1	Endophthalmitis (infectious uveitis).

Anatomic Classification

Type	Primary Location	Key Signs/Symptoms
Anterior (iritis)	Iris/ciliary body	Pain, redness, photophobia, AC cells/flare, KP, synechiae.
Intermediate	Vitreous/pars plana	Floaters, blurred vision, snowballs/snowbanks, CME.
Posterior	Choroid/retina	Vision loss, scotomas, chorioretinal lesions.
Panuveitis	All uveal layers	Combined symptoms; severe vision threat.

SUN Grading: Anterior chamber cell (0-4+), flare (0-4+).

Causes and Associations

• Idiopathic/non-granulomatous: HLA-B27 (AS, psoriatic), JIA.]
• Granulomatous: Sarcoid, TB, syphilis.
• Infectious: Toxoplasma, herpesviruses, Lyme.
• Systemic: IBD, Behçet’s, MS, malignancy (masquerade).

Related Terms

• Iridocyclitis: Anterior uveitis synonym.
• Keratic Precipitates (KP): Inflammatory corneal deposits.
• Synechiae: Iris adhesions (posterior: lens; anterior: cornea).
• CME: Cystoid macular edema (OCT diagnosis).
• Vasculitis: Retinal vessel sheathing (intermediate/posterior).

Management and Complications

Treatment:

• Anterior: Topical steroids (Pred Forte qid), cycloplegics (homatropine).
• Posterior/non-infectious: Periocular/systemic steroids, immunosuppressants (methotrexate, adalimumab).
• Infectious: Antimicrobials (acyclovir, ganciclovir).

Complications: cataract, glaucoma, band keratopathy, CME, retinal detachment, blindness (5-10%).

Prognosis: Acute anterior excellent; posterior/chronic vision-threatening.

One-Sentence Summary
Uveitis (H20.9/H30.9, Latin uva-i-tis “grape inflammation”), affects iris/choroid/vitreous in anterior/intermediate/posterior/pan forms with pain/floaters/CME, managed via steroids/immunosuppressants for HLA-B27/sarcoid/infectious causes.

Med roots Appendix A Prefixes Appendix B Combining Forms Appendix C Suffixes Appendix D Suffix forms