Cornea Flashcards
Sensory to cornea
- V
Characteristics of corneal epithelium (pigmentation/myelination)
- Not pigmented
- Not myelinated
Which layer of cornea provides the most strength?
- The stroma
What’s the inner layer of the cornea?
- Endothelium
How thick is the endothelium of the cornea?
- 1 cell layer thick
Basement membrane of the corneal endothelium - name?
- Descemet’s membrane
What are three primary characteristics of the cornea?
- Refractile
- Densely innervated
- Transparent
Which layer of cornea is most densely innervated?
- Superficial layer most densely innervated
What keeps the cornea transparent?
- No blood vessels or pigment
- Nerves are non-myelinated
- in a state of relative dehydration (deturgescence)
What maintains the relative state of dehydration in the cornea?
- endothelial ATP pump
How thick is the corneal epithelium?
Approximately 4-9 layers of epithelial cells
Is corneal epithelium lipophilic or hydrophilic?
- Lipophilic - will not take up stain
Is corneal stroma lipophilic or hydrophilic?
- Hydrophilic and takes up fluorescein stain
What does exposed stroma indicate?
- Ulcer
How does the cobalt filter help with fluorescein stain?
- Excites it to make it more visible
What is a superficial corneal ulcer?
- Loss of epithelium only
- NO stromal loss
Appearance of superficial corneal ulcer
- Distinct edge
- Takes up stain (bright green)
- NO change in corneal contour
Pain of superficial corneal ulcer
- VERY PAINFUL
- Exposed nerves in superficial stroma
Function of corneal stroma
- Bulk of corneal thickness and tectonic strength
- Bundles of collagen fibers perfectly arranged and spaced for transparency
Appearance of corneal stromal ulcer?
- Hydrophilic –> + fluorescein stain
- Change in corneal surface or contour (depression
What is Descemet’s membrane?
Basement membrane of endothelium
Where is Descemet’s membrane?
- Deep to stroma
Is Descemet’s membrane hydrophilic or lipophilic?
- Lipophilic
- DOES NOT TAKE UP STAIN
What should you do if you see Descemet’s membrane?
- THIS IS TROUBLE
- IMPENDING GLOBE RUPTURE
- REFER IMMEDIATELY
- EMERGENCY
Which part of the corneal endothelium keeps the cornea dehydrated?
Na-K+ ATPase pump
What will happen if you lose corneal endothelium?
- Corneal edema
Regeneration potential of corneal endothelial cells
- DO NOT REGENERATE
- Cell #’s and function decrease with age
What does the cornea lack to maintain transparency?
- Lymphatics
- Pigment
- Myelin
- Lymphatics
How is collagen oragnized in the corneal stroma to maintain transparency?
- They are arranged and spaced perfectly for transparency I guess
What do red, White/blue, and brown on the cornea correspond to?
- Red = blood vessels
- Brown = pigment
- White = corneal edema
What can cause corneal pigment?
- Pigmentation
- Melanoma
- Iris prolapse
- Sequestrum
What can cause blue or white appearance of the cornea?
- Blue is usually diffuse edema
- There can be cell infiltrate (inflammatory cells)
- Lipid deposition
- Calcium degeneration
What can cause redness in the cornea?
- Blood from vessels
- Blood out of vessels
- Hyphema
What will happen if blood vessels infiltrate the cornea?
- “Ghost” vessels will remain
- Permanent loss of corneal clarity
How does corneal epithelium maintain dehydration?
- Barrier against water entering stroma from the surface
How does corneal endothelium maintain dehydration?
- Water pump
- Pumps aqueous out of cornea and back into the anterior chamber
What two mechanisms can lead to corneal edema?
- Loss of either corneal epithelium or corneal endothelium
Normal corneal thickness in dogs, cats, and horses?
- 500-600 µM in dog and cat
- 1 mM in horse
Appearance of corneal edema?
- Thickening of the cornea
- Blue or white appearance
What are causes of corneal edema secondary to endothelial dysfunction?
- Corneal endothelial dystrophy
- Glaucoma
- Uveitis
- Trauma
- Immune mediated
Blue eye - what is it?
- Generalized corneal edema resulting from endothelial damage from immune complexes due to Adeno1 virus (hepatitis) vaccine or wild strain
- Rarely does but can occur due to Adenovirus 2 vaccine
Which breed group will most commonly get blue eye?
- Sight hounds
Signs of corneal ulcerative diseases
- PAIN
- Epiphora
- Blepharospasm
- Photophobia
- Head shy or avoidance
- Miosis
- Enophthalmos
- Conjunctival hyperemia/chemosis
Causes of corneal ulcers
- Trauma
- KCS
- Exposure (lagophthalmos)
- Facial nerve paralysis
- Immune mediated
- Infectious agents (herpes in cats)
- Metabolic
- Dystrophic
- Neutrophic
- Chemical (chlorhexidine, alcohol, shampoo, acid, base)
Causes of corneal trauma in domestic animals
- Scratch/laceration/perforation
- Foreign body
- Ectopic cilia
- Eyelid abnormalities
- Caustic agents
Treatment of a corneal flap
- Suture in place or if superficial (<1/3 thickness) it can be excised
- REFERRAL PROCEDURE
Treatment for corneal perforation and lens laceration
- Surgical repair of the perforation
- Likely removal of the lens by phacoemulsification (if cataract is present)
- THIS IS REFERRAL AND EMERGENCY
What can happen if suture material is left exposed over the conjunctiva?
- Irritate or ulcerate the cornea
Splinter foreign body treatment
- Make sure it’s not full thickness and no fibers left in the tract
- Plant hulls you can try to flush out, but if not, must refer
- Referral procedure
Distichia temporary removal - why do?
- can be temporarily plucked until the ulcer heals
- Ultimately will grow back
Which infectious disease is a PRIMARY cause of corneal ulceration in cats, dogs, and horses?
- Herpesvirus
Are most causes of corneal ulceration primary or secondary?
- SECONDARY MOST OFTEN
Why are animals with KCS at increased risk of corneal ulceration?
- Epithelium dries out and loses integrity more quickly
Immune mediated keratitis appearance
- Blood vessels, edema, pigmentation
Differentials for immune mediated keratitis
- Neoplasia, infection
Chemical causes of keratitis
- Shampoo
- Alcohol
- Chlorhexidine
- Scrubs
- OTHERS