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Abstract
PURPOSE: To determine whether published data on lenticular fluorescence can be described in terms of the Poisson statistic. METHODS: The intensity of the Poisson function is expressed in terms of estimates of the fraction of the incident light absorbed by the human lens. Functions calculated for ages 0 to 80 years for probabilities of different numbers of quanta absorbed are compared with experimental results. RESULTS: To account for the observed data, a minimum of three exciting quanta (490 nm) absorbed has to be postulated for young lenses, but only two for older ones. At shorter wavelengths (380-450 nm), the tentative corresponding values are five and three, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The model based on the age-related and wavelength-dependent changes in the minimum number of quanta absorbed from five to two is consistent with an age-related increase in the number of fluorophores and in their conformational changes.