A copper worker presents with a bilateral cataract showing a disc of golden-brown deposits arranged like the petals of a flower in the anterior lens capsule. The metal responsible for this deposition is:

• A Iron
• B Lead
• C Silver
• D Copper ✓

Explanation

The sunflower cataract results from deposition of copper in the anterior lens capsule beneath the epithelium, arranged in a radiating petal pattern. It occurs in chalcosis (intraocular copper foreign body) and in Wilson disease. Iron produces siderosis with rust-brown discoloration of the iris and lens epithelium, not a discrete sunflower pattern, which distinguishes it from this presentation.

Reference: Parsons' Diseases of the Eye, 23rd ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.