Lamellar orientation in human cornea in relation to mechanical properties

We have applied wide-angle X-ray scattering to the human cornea in order to quantify the relative number of stromal collagen fibrils directed along the two preferred corneal lamellar directions: superior-inferior and nasal-temporal. The data sue-est that. on average, the two directions are populated in equal proportion at the corneal centre. Here, approximately one-third of the fibrils throughout the stromal depth tend to lie within a 45 sector of the superior-inferior meridian, and similarly for the nasal-temporal direction. However, in some eyes we have measured significant differences between the two preferential fibril populations with some corneas exhibiting as much as 25% more collagen in one direction than the other. Based on these findings, a mechanical model of the normal cornea may be envisaged, whereby the fibril tension in the underlying "background" of isotropically arranged collagen helps to balance the intraocular pressure: while the extra preferentially aligned fibrils take up the additional tensile stress along the superior-inferior and nasal-temporal meridians exerted by the rectus muscles and the orbicularis. It is possible that, through a direct impact on the elastic modulus of the tissue, an imbalance Of superior-inferior and nasal-temporal fibrils in some eyes might affect corneal shape. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.