The case was recently presented in the ever-fascinating New England Journal of Medicine. The 37-year-old women went to the doctors in Guangzhou, China with complaints of watery and itchy eyes. An examination from an ophthalmologist (an eyeball expert) showed that she was simply suffering from a mild eye infection.
Incidentally, they also noticed that both of her eyes also had these distinguishing protruding iris collarettes. The photograph here shows her left eye. Although this has been documented before, it’s rare to see it so prominently displayed.
The collarette is a normal part of the iris. If you look at any eye up close you’ll be able to notice the iris has a circular pattern or change of coloration within it that separates the central pupillary zone of the iris from the peripheral ciliary zone – this bit is the collarette. It is particularly noticeable in lighter colored eyes.
“The iris collarette is a landmark that… is typically flat but can be prominent, as seen in this patient,” the authors note.
It might look a little bit weird up close but the condition is totally harmless and isn’t known to affect your sight in any way. The women received treatment for her allergic conjunctivitis and suffered no further problems.