A 45-year-old farmer presents with a slowly growing, triangular, fleshy mass on the nasal side of his right eye, extending onto the cornea. He reports occasional irritation and redness. Which of the following best describes this condition?

Explanation

The clinical description of a slowly growing, triangular, fleshy mass on the nasal side of the eye, extending onto the cornea, is classic for a pterygium. A pinguecula is a yellowish, raised lesion typically located on the conjunctiva adjacent to the limbus, but it does not extend onto the cornea. A conjunctival nevus is a pigmented lesion, while squamous cell carcinoma of the conjunctiva is a malignant growth that can have various appearances but is less commonly described as a 'fleshy triangular mass' extending onto the cornea in this typical fashion without other suspicious features.