Uveitis. It Is An Ocular Lymphadenopathy.

INTRODUCTORY PHILOSOPHY
The uvea contains familiar tissues and cell types (lymphocytes, smooth muscle, and blood vessels, for example), is inflamed by familiar antigens (infectious agents, neoplasia, auto-antigens) and reacts with the 5 cardinal signs of inflammation seen elsewhere (heat, pain, swelling, etc.). This review aims to aid diagnosis and therapy of uveitis by likening it to inflammation elsewhere (because it is more similar than it is different) while highlighting differences (because these are helpful). For further information, please refer to a review article from the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery upon which these notes are based (2009 Mar;11(3):167-82). Although it focuses on cats, there are more similarities than there are differences between dogs and cats.

CLINICAL SIGNS
Active (acute) uveitis has few pathognomonic signs and these are notably more subtle in cats than they are in dogs. Therefore, uveitis in cats often goes undetected by owners and untreated by veterinarians until potentially blinding sequelae such as glaucoma, cataracts, and retinal detachment or degeneration occur. For these reasons, clinicians must maintain a high index of suspicion regarding uveitis in all cats with ocular disease and even those with nonspecific signs such as lethargy, “hiding”, anorexia, or fever. ...