home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- -- card: 5299 from stack: in
- -- bmap block id: 5464
- -- flags: 0000
- -- background id: 2278
- -- name: Sclera and Limbus
-
-
- -- part 1 (button)
- -- low flags: 00
- -- high flags: 2000
- -- rect: left=331 top=325 right=337 bottom=343
- -- title width / last selected line: 0
- -- icon id / first selected line: 0 / 0
- -- text alignment: 1
- -- font id: 0
- -- text size: 12
- -- style flags: 0
- -- line height: 16
- -- part name: 1
- ----- HyperTalk script -----
- on mouseUp
- visual iris close
- go to card id 13625
- end mouseUp
-
-
-
-
- -- part contents for background part 1
- ----- text -----
-
- Sclera:
-
- I. Description: Posterior 5/6 of the eye.
- A. Color: Normally white.
- 1. Yellow: Due to aging, fat, or jaundice.
- 2. Blue: Present in infants or pathology (thinned sclera).
- B. Thickness:
- 1. Thickest anterior to extraocular muscles and at posterior pole.
- 2. Thinnest posterior to extraocular muscles.
- 3. Lamina cribrosa: Net of scleral fibers, allows optic nerve passage, this is the weakest part of
- the sclera, in high intraocular pressure the optic disk will become cupped.
- C. Structure:
- 1. Bundles of collagen fiber, mostly parallel to the surface, all oriented in different directions and
- interweaved.
- 2. Fibroblasts
- 3. No MPS: Opaque
-
- II. Layers of the Sclera:
- A. Episclera: Loose connective tissue, outer layer.
- 1. Merges with sclera on inside and Tenon's capsule on outside.
- B. Sclera: No sharp division between sclera and choroid.
- C. Lamina fusca: Transition between sclera and choroid, melanocytes are present.
-
- III. Blood supply:
- A. Sclera: Avascular.
- B. Episclera: Rich in blood vessels, purple in color.
- C. Conjunctiva: Thin covering over anterior sclera, contains blood vessels and is red in color.
-
- IV. Innervation:
- A. Not highly innervated.
- B. Ciliary nerves pass through the sclera to anterior surface.
-
- V. Function of the Sclera:
- A. Maintains the shape of the eye.
- B. Provides an attachment for the extraocular muscles.
- C. Counters intraocular pressure.
-
- Limbus:
-
- I. Location:
- A. Located at the junction of the cornea and sclera.
-
- II. Occurrences at the limbus:
- A. Corneal epithelium (5-6 layers) changes to conjunctival epithelium (10-15 layers).
- B. Corneal stroma which is regular collagen becomes sclera which is irregular.
- C. Blood vessels:
- 1. Conjunctival capillaries end in limbal loops (red).
- 2. Episcleral capillaries end in loops, at a place further away from the limbus, these are deeper
- and appear purple.
- 3. Lymphatics collect into lymphatic circle of Teichmann.
- 4. Nerves: Ciliary nerves branch to limbus and cornea.
-
- III. Function of the limbus:
- A. Nourishment of peripheral cornea.
- B. Removal of aqueous.
- C. Attachment of ciliary muscles at the scleral spur of dense collagen fibers.
-
- IV. Removal of aqueous:
- A. Structures:
- 1. Trabecular meshwork:
- a. Triangular cross section, apex is at Schwalbe's line, inner along anterior chamber, base
- along ciliary body and scleral spur, outer along Schlemm's canal and stromal tissue.
- b. Occupies most of internal scleral sulcus.
- c. 15 flat perforated sheets (mostly holes) running from Schwalbe's line to the scleral spur
- (pores of Fontana). Spaces between the sheets are called the spaces of Fontana.
- d. The sheets are random collagen fibers with basement membranes and one layer of endothelial
- cells on each side.
- 2. Schlemm's canal (sinus venosus scleral):
- a. It is considered a vein, although it does not carry blood.
- b. It is circular around the limbus.
- c. It has a thick connective tissue wall and an endothelial lining.
- d. Has giant vacuoles on inner wall, lets in more aqueous.
- e. The internal collector channels of Schlemm's canal intersperse with the trabecular
- meshwork, but do not join.
-
- B. Aqueous removal pathway: (See diagram 1)
-
- C. Glaucoma: Increased intraocular pressure (IOP) could result from reduced aqueous outflow.
- 1. Open angle glaucoma: 95%, anatomical cause unknown.
- 2. Angle closure glaucoma: 5%, iris root obstructs trabecular meshwork.
- a. Assessment by von Herrick or gonioscopy. In gonioscopy you should see:
- 1) Scleral spur
- 2) Trabecular meshwork
- 3) Schlemm's canal
- 4) Schwalbe's line.
- b. Normal IOP is about 15 mm. of Hg., it can shoot up to 70 mm. Hg very rapidly.
- 3. Treatment of glaucoma: Pilocarpine, which makes ciliary muscles contract, thus opening the
- trabecular meshwork.
- 4. Ocular hypertension: Higher than normal IOP, not considered glaucoma until eye damage (usually
- fields) is encountered.
-
-
-