What is spherophakia?

• A. Congenitally spherical lens
• B. Congenitally flattened lens
• C. Lens with high refractive index
• D. Absence of lens

Answer: (A)

Spherophakia means the lens is abnormally spherical. In this condition the crystalline lens is more ball-like than the normal lenticular shape, usually smaller in diameter but thicker. That round shape increases the lens’s refractive power, often producing high myopia, and it can come with zonular weakness. Since the lens is thick, it can narrow the anterior chamber and raise the risk of lens-induced pupillary block glaucoma, so it’s something clinicians watch for in exams and imaging. It’s typically congenital, so you’ll often encounter it as a lifelong, present-from-birth finding.

The other ideas don’t fit as well: a flattened lens isn’t what defines this condition, absence of the lens is aphakia, and a high refractive index describes a material property rather than the lens’s shape.