Cysts of the posterior ciliary body (pars plana).

The relative inaccessibility of the ciliary body to clinical examination explains in large part why the anatomical and pathological features of this region of the eye have remained comparatively unexplored. Only in recent years has it become urgent because of improved techniques in ophthalmoscopy to make a careful study of this portion of the eye in both health and disease. Among the most common lesions affecting the posterior ciliary body are cysts of the pars plana. Such lesions are now, and will continue to be important in differential diagnosis. Since Kuhnt 12 described ciliary body cysts in 1881, numerous reports have appeared describing 2 major groups of cystic lesions: those occurring the pars plana retinae and those occurring in the ciliary processes. The "pars ciliaris retinae" is described by Wolf 22 as the forward continuation of the outer pigmented epithelium and inner nonpigmented retinal layers, extending from the ora serrata