Brushfield spots are small white or grayish/brown spots on the periphery of the iris

Iris (anatomy)

The iris is a thin, circular structure in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupils and thus the amount of light reaching the retina. "Eye color" is the color of the iris, which can be green, blue, or brown. In some cases it can be hazel , grey, violet, or even pink...

 in the human eye

Human eye

The human eye is an organ which reacts to light for several purposes. As a conscious sense organ, the eye allows vision. Rod and cone cells in the retina allow conscious light perception and vision including color differentiation and the perception of depth...

 due to aggregation of connective tissue

Connective tissue

"Connective tissue" is a fibrous tissue. It is one of the four traditional classes of tissues . Connective Tissue is found throughout the body.In fact the whole framework of the skeleton and the different specialized connective tissues from the crown of the head to the toes determine the form of...

, a normal iris element. The spots are named after the physician, Thomas Brushfield

Thomas Brushfield

Dr. Thomas Brushfield was an English psychiatrist who worked in the field of mental deficiency. He is remembered for describing Brushfield spots, and was the medical superintendent of the Fountain Hospital for Imbeciles, Tooting, from 1914 to 1927. He died on 17 May 1937, aged 79.- References :...

, who first described them in his 1924 M.D.

Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

 thesis.

These spots are normal in children (Kunkmann-Wolffian bodies) but are also a feature of the chromosomal disorder Down syndrome

Down syndrome

Down syndrome, or Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. The condition was clinically described earlier in the 19th...

. They occur in 35–78% of newborn infants with Down syndrome. They are much more likely to occur in Down syndrome

Down syndrome

Down syndrome, or Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. The condition was clinically described earlier in the 19th...

 children of the Caucasian race

Caucasian race

The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...

 than children of Asian

Asian people

Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...

 heritage.

They are focal areas of stromal

Stroma of iris

The stroma of the iris consists of fibers and cells.The former are made up of delicate bundles of fibrous tissue; a few fibers at the circumference of the iris have a circular direction; but the majority radiate toward the pupil, forming by their interlacement delicate meshes in which the vessels...

 hyperplasia

Hyperplasia

Hyperplasia means increase in number of cells/proliferation of cells. It may result in the gross enlargement of an organ and the term is sometimes mixed with benign neoplasia/ benign tumor....

, surrounded by relative hypoplasia

Hypoplasia

Hypoplasia is underdevelopment or incomplete development of a tissue or organ. Although the term is not always used precisely, it properly refers to an inadequate or below-normal number of cells. Hypoplasia is similar to aplasia, but less severe. It is technically not the opposite of hyperplasia...

and are more common in patients with lightly pigmented irises.