title: Comparison of Scheimpflug-photography, specular microscopy and scanning electron microscopy to detect corneal changes in toxicity studies in rats.
abstract: With an increasing number of in-vivo methods to examine the eyes of laboratory animals, the rat has become an important animal model in experimental eye research. Specular microscopy is a clinical tool to examine the corneal endothelium in-vivo. To evaluate the versatility of this method for small animal eyes, we studied both corneal endothelial cell-count and corneal thickness in normal rats as well as those with diabetic, naphthalene and UV-B cataract. As a reference scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the corneal endothelium was performed. For cell-counts the correlation coefficient between both methods was found to be sufficient. The comparison of corneal thickness measurement (SEM-values) with specular microscopy and with Scheimpflugbiometry failed to show a satisfactory correlation. The study proves that specular microscopy is a useful tool to document changes also in the endothelium of the rat-cornea.
authors.affiliation: University-Eye-Clinic Bonn, Fed. Rep. Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Böker
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wegener
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hockwin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002386:Cataract / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D002452:Cell Count / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D004728:Endothelium, Corneal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D005260:Female; D008853:Microscopy; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010781:Photography; D051381:Rats; D011914:Rats, Inbred BN; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays