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Abstract
Oxygen tension in the anterior chamber aqueous of rabbits has been measured as a function of position along the anatomic axis using a needle-shaped platinum-iridium oxygen electrode and the polarographic method. It was found that a linear gradient existed with an oxygen tension at the endothelial surface of 65 torr, decreasing to about 9 torr 2.25 mm. behind the corneal surface. In the dead animal, the gradient was slightly larger. Changing the corneal surface temperature and the level of anesthesia (pentobarbital sodium) caused an insignificant change in oxygen tension near the cornea but a larger change closer to the lens. The gradient observed shows that the entire cornea receives its oxygen from the atmosphere and that most of the oxygen in the anterior chamber aqueous humor is derived from the atmosphere by diffusion through the cornea. The gradient observed could explain a large portion of the variation in data previously published on aqueous oxygen tension in rabbits.