Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To investigate how the preferred orientations of the collagen lamellae in the human corneal stroma change when the tissue swells in vitro. Methods:Synchrotron x–ray scattering was used to map, at 0.4mm resolution, the preferred orientation of lamellae across the human cornea and then to re–map after the cornea had been swollen in distilled water for about 1 hour. Results:The unswollen cornea displayed the usual preferred arrangement of lamellae (inferior–superior/nasal–temporal) at the centre and the diagonal anchoring lamellae in the periphery (Aghamohammadzadeh et al., Structure 12, 249–256, 2004). After one hour, the cornea was visibly swollen and cloudy (H=11.6). However, the vertical and horizontal preferential orientation of the lamellae was still evident, and the distribution of both preferentially aligned and total fibrillar mass (projected onto the two–dimensional plane of the cornea) showed little change. Conclusions: When the human cornea swells, the angles between adjacent lamellae are not significantly changed.
Keywords: cornea: basic science • cornea: stroma and keratocytes