Typical Manifestations of the Different Corneal Deposits by In Vivo Confocal Microscopy (IVCM): A Review

In vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) is a highly useful tool in ophthalmology for investigating a wide range of corneal pathologies. It provides high resolution images with minimal light scattering and is particularly useful in determining the nature of various corneal deposits. Deposits may arise within any layer of the cornea and may occur due to various reasons such as infections (e.g., crystalline deposits), metabolic bodily processes, systemic diseases, pharmacological agents and toxins. Deposits may as a general rule, be linear versus non-linear in shape or hyperreflective or hyporeflective in nature. Non-linear deposits can further be subdivided into granular, round, amorphous, or whorl-like patterns of deposits. This article will attempt to not only summarise all of the currently recognised corneal deposits but also utilise the morphology of the varying types of corneal deposits as seen in IVCM and categorise them within a table.