Light-Scattering and Ultrastructure of Healed Penetrating Corneal Wounds

Abstract

Despite the long healing time, these scars remained highly scattering. A combination of lakes, disordered fibril distributions, and a significant population of enlarged fibrils can explain the scattering. A possible cellular contribution cannot be ruled out.

Measurement of correlation between transmission and scattering during wound healing in hen corneas

“…As McCally et al [8] show, direct transmissivity depends on the structure organization of the tissue. Furthermore, the shape of the central part of the scattering curve is related to the types of cells that make up the corneal tissue [12].…”

“…The small amount of scattered light produced by this tissue has in particular been extensively researched in the literature [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. All previous theories explaining corneal transparency [21][22][23][24][25][26][27] have focused on light propagation in the stromal extracellular matrix.…”

“…Møller-Pedersen [10,11] studied these particular unclear aspects. McCally et al [8] presented the first measurements of light-scattering and their link to the ultrastructure of scars. For a more comprehensive study, see the reviews by Farrell and McCally [28] as well as Freegard [29].…”

“…However, the cornea has a special structure appropriate for light transmission. Previous studies have shown that scattering in a damaged cornea originates from microstructural alterations in the stromal extracellular matrix [8], as well as different cells such as keratocytes, fibroblasts, or myofibroblasts, or even certain elements of these cells [4,12,13]. When the healing process is complete, the stromal extracellular matrix recovers its order partially or entirely [30][31][32].…”

Quantifying intraocular scatter with near diffraction-limited double-pass point spread function

“…In ophthalmology, forward scatter is of more importance [1], because it produces a veiling light over the retina and a reduction in retinal contrast, whereas backscattered light theoretically only reduces the amount of light reaching the retina [2]. The forward scatter is especially relevant to specific situations [3,4], such as cataracts [3] or post-surgery eyes [5][6][7], where the ocular media transparency and/or the regularity of the optical surfaces of the ocular system could be affected [1]. It is valuable to quantify ocular scatter to aid in better understanding of the visual performance of the patient.…”