Severe electrical burn of the eye.

The clinical and histopathologic findings in an 18-year-old male who sustained a severe orbital and ocular electrical burn as a result of contact with a "third rail" are described. The third rail was 600 volts positive with respect to the ground, and a maximum of 50,000 amperes was available as current. The anterior segment changes described are considered secondary to heat, as well as electrical energy; whereas the more discrete pathology in the posterior retina and optic nerve was thought to be caused by passage of electric current. Ocular and orbital electric injuries of this severity have rarely been described.