#2-1. Defining the Epicanthus and Two Letters from History

Ammon and Sichel

In his paper published in 1925, F. Montais of France explained that “bride mongolique” or the Mongolian fold, which is a normal fold found in the medial eye structure, should be distinguished from the epicanthus (F. Motais : Trois années d'ophthalmologie en Cochinchine , Ann. d'ocul. 162:661, 1925). H. Gifford of the United States also described in his 1928 paper that the epicanthus occurs at similar rates in both Caucasians and Mongolians, agreeing to Motais’s findings. Below is an excerpt from Montais’ paper.

“The bride mongolique differs greatly from the epicanthus, with which it is often compared. Epicanthus concerns the skin of the region lateral to the nose. Its inferior insertion terminates in the cheek; its superior, in the middle of the internal portion of the superior lid. It has a concavity freely external. The bride mongolique, on the contrary, involves only the skin of the superior lid and reaches the inferior lid only to disappear; it continues simply the pad of which it is a part. Its concavity is inferiorly external.”

“Bride mongolique” is a French term referring to the medial part of the eye particular to the Asian race and is distinguished from “epicanthus.” Below are definitions of bride mongolique and epicanthus in a French medical dictionary.

bride mongolique: Dictionnaire médical de l'Académie de Médecine – version 2016

mongolian fold

Repli orbito-palpébral recouvrant partiellement ou totalement l’angle interne de l’œil.

C’est un caractère que l’on rencontre dans les races jaunes chez lesquelles il est associé à un repli adipeux supplémentaire de la paupière supérieure.

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This translates into English as:

Orbito-palpebral fold partially or totally covering the internal angle of the eye. It is a character found in the Asian races, in which it is associated with a supplementary adipose fold of the upper eyelid.

Epicanthus (=pli palpébro-nasal )

plica palpebronasalis (TA)

palpebronasal fold, medial canthic fold

Repli semi-lunaire de la peau, presque vertical et habituellement symétrique, qui recouvre la commissure médiale de l’œil, sans lui adhérer.

Il coïncide presque toujours avec un arrêt de développement ou un effondrement des os de la base du nez. On distingue un pli palpébro-nasal supérieur et un pli palpébro-nasal inférieur, selon l’origine du repli semi-lunaire.

Le pli naso-palpébral est normalement présent dans certaines races, notamment la race jaune.

This translates into English as:

Semi-lunar fold of the skin, almost vertical and usually symmetrical, which covers the medial commissure of the eye without adhering to it. It almost always coincides with an arrest of development or a collapse of the bones of the base of the nose. There is an upper palpebral-nasal fold and a lower palpebral-nasal fold, depending on the origin of the semilunar fold. The naso-palpebral fold is normally present in some races, including the Asian race.