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Abstract
Changes in hydration of the lens which occur in three arbitrarily defined stages during the development of galactose cataract have been studied. At the onset of the cataractous process the increase in hydration is due to the accumulation of dulcitol. The water content which is only slightly increased in the intermediate stage is accounted for mainly by the retention dulcitol, and to a smaller degree by an increase in salt. In contrast to the early stages, when the cataract matures the large influx of water is no longer attributed to the accumulation of dulcitol but to an increase in NaCl.