Key facts
- Other names
- Surfer's eye
- Specialty
- Ophthalmology , Optometry
- Symptoms
- Pinkish, triangular tissue growth on the cornea
- Complications
- Vision loss
- Usual onset
- Gradual
- Causes
- Unknown
- Risk factors
- UV light , dust, genetics
- Differential diagnosis
- Pinguecula , tumor, Terrien's marginal degeneration
- Prevention
- Sunglasses, hat
- Treatment
- None, eye lubricant, surgery
- Prognosis
- Benign
- Frequency
- 1% to 33%
via Wikipedia infobox
Research
4,437 papers- Pterygium: new insights.Eye (London, England) · 2020
- [Pterygium: etiology, pathogenesis, treatment].Vestnik oftalmologii · 2017
- Biomarkers in the Occurrence and Development of Pterygium.Ophthalmic research · 2022
- Treatment of Pterygium on the Refractive Errors: A Systematic Review.Korean journal of ophthalmology : KJO · 2025
- Pathogenesis of pterygium.Eye (London, England) · 1989
via PubMed
~11 min read
Encyclopedic overview
A pterygium of the eye (pl.: pterygia or pterygiums, also called surfer's eye) is a pinkish, roughly triangular tissue growth of the conjunctiva onto the cornea of the eye. It typically starts on the cornea near the nose. It may slowly grow but rarely grows so large that it covers the pupil and impairs vision. Often both eyes are involved.
The cause is unclear. It appears to be partly related to long term exposure to UV light and dust. Genetic factors also appear to be involved. It is a benign growth. Other conditions that can look similar include a pinguecula, tumor, or Terrien's marginal corneal degeneration.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “pterygium” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.