[A brief history of diagnosis and treatment of Pterygium in China and outside China].

Pterygium, an old and commonly occurred eye disease, featuring obvious proliferation of triangular tissues grown in the bulbar conjunctiva which may also invade the cornea. Despite uncertainty about optimal treatment for pterygium, significant progress in pathological theory that a pterygium comprises a potentially highly proliferative tissue and the shortage of stem cells in the corneal margin has been made in the past year in understanding the pathogenesis of this enigmatic disease. These advances have influenced the surgical and medical approach to the management of this common and often recurrent disease.