Abstract

Trichomegaly is a congenital condition in which the eyelashes are abnormally long, greater than 12mm in the central area and 8mm in the peripheral. The term was first used by H. Gray in 1944 in a publication in the Stanford Medical Bulletin, though he was only the third person to characterize the disorder; the first two reports were published in German in 1926 and 1931 by Reiter and Bab, respectively. Gray suggested the use of the term "movie lashes" to describe this condition, for long lashes were at the time being portrayed in film as a desirable characteristic in women.

Etiology

There are several causal agents for this disorder; these can be divided into three main categories and include the following: