Trichomegaly

Trichomegaly is a condition in which the eyelashes are abnormally long, objectively defined as 12 mm or greater in the central area and 8 mm in the peripheral area. The term was first used by H. Gray in 1944 in a publication in the Stanford Medical Bulletin, though he was only the third person to characterize the disorder; the first two reports were published in German in 1926 and 1931, by Reiter and Bab respectively. Gray suggested the phrase movie lashes, because long lashes were then being portrayed in film as a desirable feature in women. The condition does not always present a medical issue and can sometimes be a benign familial or isolated trait.