The nevus of Ota is a congenital benign mesodermic melanosis located in the area of distribution -o a irst, second and, rarely, the third branches of the trigeminal nerve with pigmentation of the eye and its adnexa.
Pusey (1916) was the first to describe the association of scleral and facial pigmentation in a young Chinese student. Later, in Japan Ota and Tanino (1939) reported, under the name of naevus fusco-caeruleus maxillo-facialis, a case of pigmented naevus occuring in the skin areas supplied by the ophthalmic and maxillary divisions of the trigeminal nerve with the pigmentation of the eye. The nevus of Ota is usually unilateral, and it is usually present at birth but it may devel op later in life at puberty or in young adults. This condition is generally considered to be benign and harmless except a cosmetic problem. The pigment consists of large melanin granules and is present in special dendritic or fusiform cells.
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