Comments and Conclusions

  • The ciliary body is invisible to ophthalmoscopy and to slit lamp biomicroscopy.
  • Lesions of the ciliary body are nearly always invisible to instruments that use light but are easily detectable by instruments using sound.
  • The UBM is ideal for imaging mass lesions of the ciliary body
  • Very common lesions, such as ciliary body cysts, are easily differentiated from solid lesions, such as malignant melanomas, with UBM.
  • Ciliary body lesions which spread to the far peripheral anterior choroid may be visible with uwf imaging devices.
  • So called “sentinel vessels” are important to identify as such are often mis-diagnosed as vessel dilation due to infection, inflammation or allergy
  • UBM, and occasionally B-scan and uwf imaging, can detect a mass lesion at the ciliary body that can lead to death if not detected and treated in a timely manner.