The normal function of the eye socket depends on the complete intact presence of its lining membrane, the conjunctiva. The eye socket is no exception to the surgical dictum that every cavity and hollow viscus of the body must have a lining; therefore, total or partial destruction of this conjunctival lining obliterates or distorts the socket, rendering it incapable of carrying a glass prosthesis.
These statements do not hold true for such rare conditions as postconjunctival tumors, large foreign bodies or muscular hyperplasia as found in exophthalmos. It is readily conceded that the mere bulk found in these conditions, in spite of an intact lining, so crowds the orbital cavity that a glass eye cannot be worn unless the offending cause is removed. This was forcibly demonstrated to us recently in a rather unique condition (case 2). Following the accidental loss of an eye, the patient was