SCANNING ELECTRON-MICROSCOPIC STUDIES OF THE COLLAGEN ARCHITECTURE OFTHE HUMAN SCLERA - NORMAL AND PATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS

The arrangement of the collagen fibrils of the human sclera was analyz ed in the region of the limbus corneae, the corneoscleral trabeculum, at the zone of muscle insertion and at defined areas of the internal a nd external surface of the sclera. Adult eyes with no apparent patholo gical alterations and the sclera of a patient with staphyloma were exa mined by scanning electron microscopy. The investigations were perform ed to describe regularities in the collagen architecture in normal and pathologically altered eyes to understand pathomorphologic and pathop hysiologic changes in scleral diseases.