Uveitis is the inflammation of the uvea, which is the middle layer of the eye. It is composed of the iris, the ciliary body and the choroid. All these structures are pigmented and contain several blood vessels.

There exist different types of uveitis. Their classification will depend on which part of the eye they are affecting. · Anterior uveitis: it affects the iris and/or the ciliary body. · Intermediate uveitis: it affects the pars plana. · Posterior uveitis: it affects the choroid. · Pan-uveitis: it affects all layers of the uvea.

Uveitis can have various aetiologies. They can be due to bacterial, viral, parasitic infections, etc. They may be associated to rheumatic diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, etc.) or be related to intraocular tumours, etc. Most of them though, are idiopathic, that is to say, we don’t know their exact cause.

Depending on which part of the eye is affected, the symptomatology can be different. In broad terms, anterior uveitis can originate redness of the eye and ocular pain whereas posterior ones usually cause the appearance of floaters and a diminishment of visual acuity.

Treatment will be focused on the uveitis cause. In case of inflammatory uveitis, the treatment will be based on corticosteroids. If it were of infectious origin, then the proper antimicrobial must be searched.