Inflammation affecting the eyelid and surrounding tissues.
From Greek blepharon (eyelid) + -itis (inflammation suffix), with possible influence from Greek hydatis (watery cyst). This rare medical term combines eyelid anatomy with inflammatory pathology, appearing in older ophthalmological texts.
This is one of those wonderfully obscure medical terms that appears in 19th-century texts but has largely been replaced by more specific diagnoses like 'blepharitis' or 'preseptal cellulitis'—it's a reminder that medicine constantly refines its vocabulary.
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