A condition involving blackening or necrosis of the eyelid tissue, often caused by anthracis infection or other severe inflammatory processes.
From Greek blephara (eyelid) + anthrax (coal, referring to coal-black color) + -osis (disease). The 'anthrax' element refers to the blackened appearance, not the bacterium Bacillus anthracis.
This word is a museum piece: it describes tissue that turned black from infection or death, using 'anthrax' (Greek for coal) purely for the color—coined before the word 'anthrax' referred specifically to the bacterium, showing how medical terminology can trap old meanings.
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