Congenital Alacrima

DEFICIENT lacrimal secretion occurs much more commonly in adults than in children. Alacrima as a congenital defect is distinctly unusual. Sjögren¹found only 14 cases in the literature up to 1952. The only case of unilateral congenital alacrima was reported in 1884 by Morton.²The case of unilateral lacrimal insufficiency described below is presented because of the infrequency of the condition. Report of a Case Clinical History. —A 10-year-old Negro boy was first seen in July 1965 with the complaint of pain and photophobia involving the right eye. This eye was said to have an abnormal appearance beginning a few weeks after birth. Tears had never been seen in the right eye after either psychic or painful stimuli. The left eye responded in a normal fashion. There was no family history of a similar condition. At the time of initial examination (Fig 1), the lids were normal. The