[Ocular morbidity in Palestine].

Examinations of 1427 subjects (2848 eyes) on the Western Bank of the Jordan and in the Ghaza sector have revealed a high incidence of ophthalmic diseases, particularly of conjunctivitis, cataracts (nuclear among other ones), corneal opacities, pigmented retinal dystrophies, diabetic retinopathies, congenital conditions. Blindness resulted mostly from corneal opacities, most often developing after trachoma, and from congenital diseases of the eyes. Marriages between relatives appear to play an essential role in the development of congenital diseases of the eyes, as well as of pigmented abiotrophy of the retina.