SANGUINEOUS LACRIMATION

Abstract

Sanguineous lacrimation, or hemorrhage from the lacrimal gland, though rare, is not unknown. A review of the literature shows that the terms sanguineous lacrimation and bloody tears are frequently used synonymously, which is a mistake. Sanguineous lacrimation may produce blood tears, but not all cases of bloody tears are necessarily sanguineous lacrimation. The phenomenon has been known from antiquity, is most frequently found in young females and is not hereditary. A brief review of the cases found on record after a careful search of the literature follows: In 1581, Dodonaeus 1 briefly records his observations on a girl who, at the age of 16, had not menstruated; nature therefore attempted to rid itself of the excess blood through the eyes, since sanguineous drops which resembled tears frequently flowed from them. Raigerus, 2 in 1755, reported the case of a boy, aged 15 months, who shed bloody tears on several occasions