title: Ocular biomechanics and biotransport.
abstract: The eye transduces light, and we usually do not think of it as a biomechanical structure. Yet it is actually a pressurized, thick-walled shell that has an internal and external musculature, a remarkably complex internal vascular system, dedicated fluid production and drainage tissues, and a variety of specialized fluid and solute transport systems. Biomechanics is particularly involved in accommodation (focusing near and far), as well as in common disorders such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, myopia, and presbyopia. In this review, we give a (necessarily brief) overview of many of the interesting biomechanical aspects of the eye, concluding with a list of open problems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, and Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G8, Canada. ethier@mie.utoronto.ca
authors.forename: C Ross
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Ethier
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ruberti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001082:Aqueous Humor / Q000378:metabolism*; D001692:Biological Transport; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena / Q000379:methods*; D003315:Cornea / Q000473:pathology; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration; D009799:Ocular Physiological Phenomena; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000473:pathology*; D011312:Pressure; D012160:Retina / Q000473:pathology