The lamina cribrosa (LC) is the porous and collagenous tissue where damage to nerve fibers occurs in glaucoma [1]. Bellezza, et al., using a destructive histomorphological technique, studied the deformation of the LC under various intraocular pressures (IOP) in normal and early experimental glaucomatous monkey eyes, and demonstrated that the LC deformed in the early stage of glaucoma [2]. Sigal, et al. conducted computational studies to show that laminar cribrosa presented greatest strains under the effect of elevated IOPs [3]. However, nondestructive quantitative measurements of the microstructural and morphological changes in LC have not yet been extensively reported. The purpose of this study was to develop a protocol to quantify the microstructural changes in the LC, specifically identifying changes in porosity and fiber angle under various IOPs.

Volume Subject Area:
Ocular and Other Solid Mechanics
Topics:
Biological tissues, Damage, Deformation, Fibers, Human eye, Porosity, Pressure
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