title: Anterior eye tissue morphology: Scleral and conjunctival thickness in children and young adults.
abstract: The sclera and conjunctiva form part of the eye's tough, protective outer coat, and play important roles in the eye's mechanical protection and immune defence, as well as in determining the size and shape of the eye globe. Advances in ocular imaging technology now allow these tissues in the anterior eye to be imaged non-invasively and with high resolution, however there is a paucity of data examining the dimensions of these tissues in paediatric populations. In this study, we have used optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging to examine the normal in vivo thickness profile of the anterior sclera and overlying conjunctiva in 111 healthy young participants, including a large proportion of paediatric subjects. We demonstrate that the thickness of the anterior sclera varies significantly with measurement location and meridian. Tissue thickness also varied significantly with age, with younger subjects exhibiting significantly thinner scleras and significantly greater conjunctival thickness. Males were also found to exhibit significantly greater scleral thickness. Refractive error however was not significantly associated with either scleral or conjunctival thickness in this population. These findings provide new data describing the normative dimensions of anterior eye tissues in children and the factors that can influence these dimensions in young populations.
authors.affiliation: Contact Lens and Visual Optics Laboratory, School of Optometry and Vision Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Scott A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Read
authors.affiliation: Contact Lens and Visual Optics Laboratory, School of Optometry and Vision Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Alonso-Caneiro
authors.affiliation: Contact Lens and Visual Optics Laboratory, School of Optometry and Vision Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Vincent
authors.affiliation: Contact Lens and Visual Optics Laboratory, School of Optometry and Vision Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bremner
authors.affiliation: Contact Lens and Visual Optics Laboratory, School of Optometry and Vision Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Annabel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fothergill
authors.affiliation: Contact Lens and Visual Optics Laboratory, School of Optometry and Vision Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Brittney
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.affiliation: Contact Lens and Visual Optics Laboratory, School of Optometry and Vision Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: McGraw
authors.affiliation: Contact Lens and Visual Optics Laboratory, School of Optometry and Vision Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Charlotte J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Quirk
authors.affiliation: Contact Lens and Visual Optics Laboratory, School of Optometry and Vision Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Elspeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wrigley
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003228:Conjunctiva / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012590:Sclera / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence