Trichomegaly#Etiology

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| synonym = Movie lashes

| image = Closed human eye, superior view.jpg

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| caption = Trichomegaly in an adult human male, his upper lashes measuring 14 mm long

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| specialty = Dermatology

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| diagnosis = Measured upper eyelash length of 12 mm or greater, and/or increased length, thickness, curl, pigmentation of lashes

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| image2 = Human eye, lateral view.jpg

| caption2 = Lashes have greater prominence (length, fullness, darkness) than normal subjects

}}

Trichomegaly is a condition in which the eyelashes are abnormally long,{{cite book |author=Rapini, Ronald P. |author2=Bolognia, Jean L. |author3=Jorizzo, Joseph L. |title=Dermatology: 2-Volume Set |publisher=Mosby |location=St. Louis |year=2007 |pages=1010 |isbn=978-1-4160-2999-1 }} objectively defined as 12mm or greater in the central area and 8mm in the peripheral.{{Cite journal |last1=Paul |first1=Laura J. |last2=Cohen |first2=Philip R. |last3=Kurzrock |first3=Razelle |date=June 2012 |title=Eyelash trichomegaly: review of congenital, acquired, and drug-associated etiologies for elongation of the eyelashes: Eyelash trichomegaly |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-4632.2011.05315.x |journal=International Journal of Dermatology |language=en |volume=51 |issue=6 |pages=631–646 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-4632.2011.05315.x|pmid=22607279 |s2cid=205398795 }} The term was first used by H. Gray in 1944 in a publication in the Stanford Medical Bulletin, though he was only the third person to characterize the disorder; the first two reports were published in German in 1926 and 1931 by Reiter and Bab, respectively.{{Cite journal|last1=Ziakas|first1=N. G.|last2=Jogiya|first2=A.|last3=Michaelides|first3=M.|date=2004-01-30|title=A case of familial trichomegaly in association with oculocutaneous albinism type 1|journal=Eye|language=en|volume=18|issue=8|pages=863–864|doi=10.1038/sj.eye.6701326|pmid=14752500|issn=0950-222X|doi-access=free}} Gray suggested the use of the term "movie lashes" to describe this condition, for long lashes were at the time being portrayed in film as a desirable characteristic in women.

The condition does not always present a medical issue and can sometimes be a benign familial or isolated trait. The presence of excessively long or lush lashes in healthy individuals is likely under-reported as it is an aesthetically pleasing facial feature and usually does not prompt diagnosis or treatment on its own.