QUANTIFICATION OF RETINAL OXYGEN-CONSUMPTION CHANGES FROM PRERETINAL OXYGEN TRANSIENTS

Background: In the avascular retina of the guinea-pig ail the oxygen s upply is from the choroid. Under these circumstances we had proposed, on theoretical grounds, that a change in retinal oxygen consumption wo uld modulate the preretinal oxygen level. Methods: in the present stud y in guinea-pigs, the oxygen consumption of-the outer retina was modul ated by light-dark exposure while preretinal oxygen tension was monito red. Results: The results were in complete agreement with the proposed mathematical models. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that it is feasible to quantify oxygen consumption changes in a known retin al layer from measurements of preretinal oxygen tension.