title: Tear film break-up time in rabbits.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Rabbits have a longer inter-blink time (approximately 10 minutes) compared with humans (five to eight seconds), suggesting that rabbits have a much more stable tear film. Using fluorescein, the tear break-up time of rabbits has been reported to be similar to that of humans. This study set out to measure the tear break-up time in rabbits using non-invasive methods and to establish the pattern of tear break-up compared to humans.
  
  
  METHODS
  The tear break-up time was measured and the pattern of tear break-up was observed in six New Zealand White rabbits on two separate occasions using both the Keeler Tearscope-plus(TM)  and a slitlamp biomicroscope.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean rabbit tear break-up time was 29.8 ± 3.4 (SD) minutes. This contrasts with the reports of human tear break-up time of eight to 30 seconds. The tear breaking spread very slowly and was often restricted to the area of the initial break.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Rabbit tears have a significantly higher tear break-up time than humans and this aligns with previously demonstrated differences in inter-blink time between rabbits and humans. Understanding the underlying mechanisms of tear stability may lead to novel ways of increasing human tear film stability.
authors.affiliation: Brien Holden Vision Institute, Sydney, Australia. eric.xiaojia.w@gmail.com
authors.forename: Xiaojia E
authors.initials: XE
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Markoulli
authors.forename: Zhenjun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Mark D P
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Willcox
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001767:Blinking / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007765:Lacrimal Apparatus / Q000378:metabolism*; D033401:Microscopy, Acoustic; D011817:Rabbits; D013499:Surface Properties; D013666:Tears / Q000737:chemistry*