2020–2021 BCSC Basic and Clinical Science Course™
8 External Disease and Cornea
Chapter 10: Infectious Diseases of the External Eye: Microbial and Parasitic Infections
Bacteriology
Gram-negative Cocci
Neisseria species
Neisseria gonorrhoeae causes urogenital, rectal, and pharyngeal infections, as well as hyperacute conjunctivitis, and can invade intact corneal epithelium, induce keratolysis of the corneal stroma, and perforate the cornea. N gonorrhoeae is always a pathogen, whereas the closely related species Neisseria meningitidis may be commensal in the pharynx without causing disease. N gonorrhoeae is a bean-shaped, gram-negative diplococcus usually seen within neutrophils on a clinical smear taken from ocular or genital sites (Fig 10-2).
Excerpted from BCSC 2020-2021 series: Section 10 - Glaucoma. For more information and to purchase the entire series, please visit https://www.aao.org/bcsc.