Bickerstaff's encephalitis is a rare inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system, first described by Edwin Bickerstaff in 1951. It may also affect the peripheral nervous system, and has features in common with both Miller Fisher syndrome and GuillainâBarrÃ© syndrome. 1  1 Signs and symptoms.  2 Pathophysiology.
Pathophysiology. Tears are produced in the lacrimal gland and drain through the upper and lower puncta into the canaliculi and then into the lacrimal sac and nasolacrimal duct (see Figure: Anatomy of the lacrimal system. ). Obstruction of tear drainage can lead to stasis and infection.
Lacrimal sac- This is the upper dilated end of the nasolacrimal duct. It connects to the lacrimal canaliculi which function to drain the tears from the eyes surface to the nasal cavity via the nasolacrimal duct. The cells that line these canaliculi are stratified columnar epithelium, with goblet cells.