Orbital diseases may be vascular, thyroid-related (Graves disease), infectious, inflammatory, or neoplastic. Cavernous sinus thrombosis causes many of the same symptoms and signs as orbital diseases. Infiltrative ophthalmopathy due to Graves disease, the most frequent cause of orbital disease, is discussed in Thyroid Disorders: Etiology. Orbital fractures are discussed in Facial Trauma: Fractures of the Jaw and Contiguous Structures. (For anatomy of the orbit, see Fig. 1: Approach to the Ophthalmologic Patient: Cross-section of the eye..)

Last full review/revision August 2012 by James Garrity, MD