A pooling of blood in the anterior chamber is a:

• A. Subconjunctival hemorrhage
• B. Retinal hemorrhage
• C. Hyphema
• D. Conjunctival edema

Answer: (C)

The situation being described is blood accumulating inside the front part of the eye, within the anterior chamber (the space between the cornea and the iris). That specific finding is called hyphema. It happens when vessels in the iris or nearby structures leak into the anterior chamber, often after trauma, and it can affect vision and eye pressure.

Subconjunctival hemorrhage is blood that collects under the conjunctiva on the surface of the sclera, not inside the anterior chamber, so it looks like a bright red patch on the white of the eye but doesn’t involve the chamber itself. Retinal hemorrhage occurs within the retina, far back inside the eye, not in the anterior chamber. Conjunctival edema is swelling of the conjunctiva, with no pooling of blood inside the eye.