title: [Ultrastructural changes in various cataractous lenses in rats].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the ultrastructural changes of lenses aged 50 days from normal rats and rats with three kinds of cataract.
  
  
  METHODS
  Transmission electron microscope (TEM) was used to investigate the ultrastructural changes of normal lens, selenium, galactosemic and congenital cataracts in the rat.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the normal group, the structure of cell membrane in cortex is not changed obviously, but in the lens nucleus there are slight cellular degeneration, low cytoplasmic density and the destruction of intercellular junctional complexes. In the selenium cataratous lens, in the lens cortex and nucleus the cellular junctional complexes are damaged severely, the cystic degeneration of mitochondria in the cytoplasm is obvious, the cytoplasmic density becomes lower and slight liquefaction can be observed in some parts of cytoplasm. In the galactosemic cataractous lens, in the cortex obvious liquefaction, vesicles and globular structures can be found within the cytoplasm, intercellular spaces are enlarged and liquified markedly, and in the lens nuclear area the cytoplasm appears as fine sands. In congenital cataractous lens, the cellular structure in cortex is essentially normal, but there are marked destruction of junctional complexes, obvious cystic degeneration of mitochondria and cytoplasmic aggregation with uneven distribution in the lens nuclear area.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ultrastructural changes in different kinds of cataractous lenses depend on the extent and location of opacification in lenses.
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002386:Cataract / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology*; D005688:Galactosamine; D007904:Lens Cortex, Crystalline / Q000648:ultrastructure; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012643:Selenium
chemical_list: D005688:Galactosamine; D012643:Selenium