Types of Uveitis
Since uveitis affects several tissues in the eye, it is most often classified by which part of the eye is predominantly affected. Thus, uveitis affecting the front of the eye is called anterior uveitis, at the back is called posterior uveitis, the middle part intermediate uveitis, and that affecting the entire eye is called panuveitis. Uveitis is also classified by the type of tissue involved – so retinal inflammation is retinitis, and similarly, we have choroiditis (back part of the uvea) or iritis (front part of the uvea).
Uveitis is also classified as infectious or non-infectious or by the specific infection (tuberculosis, viral etc.) or by the pattern of inflammation in the eye (e.g. serpiginous-like choroiditis or multifocal choroiditis). In the left picture below, we can see nodules on the surface of iris, which is described as granulomatous anterior uveitis (anterior referring to the front part of the uvea). The right picture shows swelling of the back part of the uvea, called the choroid. The pattern seen in the picture is also called as serpiginous-like choroiditis, and is commonly caused by tuberculosis.