Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose:To perform measurements of rabbit eyes, with special focus on the dimensions of the crystalline lens, which have potential application on research related to the development of new posterior chamber intraocular lenses. Methods:20 Dutch pigmented rabbits weighing 1.9 to 2.1 kg were used in this study. All rabbits were treated in accordance with guidelines set forth by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), and the Division of Laboratory Animal Resources (DLAR) of the Medical University of South Carolina. After anesthetizing the rabbits with an intramuscular injection of ketamine HCl (35-44 mg/Kg) and rompum (5-8 mg/Kg), they were humanely euthanized with a 2 cc intravenous injection of pentobarbital sodium. Their eyes were immediately enucleated and the following measurements were performed, using a Castroviejo caliper and a digital metric ruler (model Absolute Digimatic, Mitutoyo Corp., Japan): anterior-posterior length, equatorial diameter, corneal diameter, crystalline lens diameter in situ (after excision of cornea and iris), crystalline lens diameter and thickness after its removal from the eye. Results:The following means and standard deviations were obtained for the different parameters analyzed: rabbit weight 2.03 ± 0.06 kg, anterior-posterior length 15.4 ± 0.51 mm, equatorial diameter 16.4 ± 0.77 mm, corneal diameter 13.3 ± 0.37 mm, lens diameter in situ 9.9 ± 0.32 mm, lens diameter after removal from the eye 9.1 ± 0.4 mm, and crystalline lens thickness 6.7± 0.3mm. Conclusion:Dimensions of the eyes of rabbits normally used for pre-clinical studies of new posterior chamber intraocular lenses may differ considerably from those of human eyes. This fact should be taken into account in studies involving precise analyses of sizing and fitting of new intraocular lens designs.
Keywords: 338 cataract • 316 animal model • 318 anterior segment