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Abstract
Grossly normal human corneas received through the Iowa Eye Bank and stored in cold moist chambers for 12, 24, 36, 72, and 96 hours were studied with the electron microscope. Significant changes observed toere: shrinkage of the nuclei, ground cytoplasm, and cell membranes; small vacuole formation from swollen and distorted mitochondria; large vacuole formation from cytoyjlasmic spaces near cell membranes; agranular clumping of the nucleoplasm; breakdown and disappearance of nuclear membranes; degeneration bodies from mitochondria; and an increase in perinuclear ribonucleoprotein granules and endoplasmic reticulum about the epithelial nuclei. Morphological changes considered to be irreversible by earlier workers were first noted at 24 hours. These changes progressed as the time of storage increased.