Affinity of ester-type local anesthetics for the cornea and sclera

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Oral Biology Vol. 28; no. 2; pp. 223 - 225
• Main Authors: Igarashi, Haruyoshi, Suzuki, Ayumi, Kawasaki, Tohru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japanese Association for Oral Biology 1986
• ISSN: 0385-0137
• DOI: 10.2330/joralbiosci1965.28.223

「Introduction」The eyeball, with its functions of permeability and light transmission, is maintained in a transparent condition. The cornea and sclera together form the outer layer of the eyeball. The cornea can be divided into the epithelium, Bowman's membrane, stromal layer, Descement's membrane and the endothelium. The various characteristics of the cornea seem to be mainly dependent on the stromal layer. The stromal cornea consists of water, collagen, protein, acidic polysaccharide and salts, of which, collagen and polysaccharides comprise over 80% of the cornea. The collagen fiber of the stroma is uniform and thin, and contains some dissolved collagen classified as type I. The sclera resembles the cornea in chemical composition, but differs greatly in function and structure1-5). The collagen fibers of the sclera belong to type III:they are wider and more heterogeneous than those in the cornea, and are spindleshaped, and irregularly distributed. Kishida et al. 6) have found a relationship between drug structure and permeability in the rabbit cornea and described the physicochemical properties of the drugs.