Non-metallic foreign bodies in the anterior chamber.

Anterior chamber foreign bodies are uncommon, making up only about I5 per cent. of all intraocular foreign bodies. The velocity and point of entry determine the site at which a foreign body comes to rest. Non-metallic foreign bodies usually have a lower velocity than metallic, and once they have penetrated the cornea tend to remain in the anterior chamber. Metallic foreign bodies lodge in the iris or more commonly in the posterior segment of the globe and rarely remain in the anterior chamber. The reaction set up in the anterior chamber to the foreign body depends on its composition, shape, and size together with the presence or absence of irritation of the adjacent structures, i.e. corneal endothelium, iris, and lens. All the ten cases reported in this paper were treated at the High Holborn branch of Moorfields Eye Hospital during the last I6 years (Table).