A 3-year-old boy has a two-month history of unilateral mucoid discharge and redness. On the ipsilateral lower lid margin there is a 3 mm pearly nodule with a central umbilication. The conjunctiva shows follicles. Scraping of the nodule would show:
- A Intranuclear inclusions with owl-eye appearance
- B Elementary bodies on Giemsa stain
- C Henderson-Paterson bodies ✓
- D Multinucleated giant cells with acantholysis
Correct answer: C. Henderson-Paterson bodies
Explanation
Molluscum contagiosum, a poxvirus infection, causes an umbilicated pearly nodule on the lid margin; viral particles shed into the tear film produce a chronic ipsilateral follicular conjunctivitis. Curettage or excision of the nodule cures the conjunctivitis. Henderson-Paterson bodies are the large intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies characteristic of molluscum. Owl-eye intranuclear inclusions suggest cytomegalovirus, and multinucleated giant cells with acantholysis suggest herpes simplex, so those options fail.
Reference: Khurana, Comprehensive Ophthalmology, 7th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.