Rose bengal staining revealed differences in the degree of staining in all areas of the ocular surface of control and denervated eyes
(Fig. 2) . After section of the GSPN, all seven eyes revealed rose bengal staining, and the mean score for the medial conjunctiva was 1.71 ± 0.18 (
P < 0.005), the mean score for the lateral conjunctiva was 0.86 ± 0.26 (
P < 0.05), and the mean score for the corneas of denervated eyes was 2.57 ± 0.20 (
P < 0.005). The total score of the denervated eyes was 5.14 ± 0.51, which was significantly greater than control (0.14 ± 0.14;
P < 0.005). In tarsorrhaphy animals, the mean rose bengal scores for cornea, medial bulbar, and lateral conjunctivae and the total score of all areas in the eye with tarsorrhaphies were 1.86 ± 0.46 (
P < 0.005), 0.29 ± 0.18, 2.43 ± 0.20 (
P < 0.005), and 4.57 ± 0.57 (
P < 0.005), respectively. The rose bengal scores were similar to those of rabbits with GSPN sectioning, except for the lateral conjunctiva. As shown in
Figure 2D , six of the seven control eyes were graded 0 (no staining) in all areas, and one was graded 1+ for the cornea. The mean score for control corneas was 0.14 ± 0.14. As with fluorescein results, rose bengal staining was not observed in the sham-operated controls or the contralateral control eyes.