Autoimmune eye disease

The eye has a number of interesting immunological properties that alter the propensity for immune-mediated disease, including the curious feature that antigen injected into the anterior chamber induces tolerance rather than immunity. In addition, the eye has no true lymphatics, relatively poor vascularity, and, as the retina is an extension of the CNS, there is a blood–retinal barrier that limits passage of molecules in either direction. Ocular involvement is a common feature of many connective tissue and vasculitic diseases.