Cataract
an affection of the sight, in which the crystalline lens of the eye is more or less permeated by opaque matter, and objective vision either wholly or partially prevented . Cataract is of two kinds, viz., hard and soft.
Hard cataract is most common among old people. Soft may occur at any age , but is found most frequently among children, and especially among those who have been born with this condition; in the latter case it is called congenital cataract. Traumatic cataract is so called when it is the result of a wound of the lens. Cataract is very recognizable in children, in whom it presents a bluishwhite appearance like milk and water in the pupil of the eye; in aged persons the color is much darker and less distinct, and therefore more difficult to see, but a careful examination will detect the opacity in the lens. Cataract is usually amenable to surgical treatment.
CATARACT. See WATERFALL.
CATHARINE II.