Cellular Origin of Mucins of the Ocular Surface Tear Film

Abstract
The surface of the eye is covered by a tear film that has been estimated to be 40 μm thick.1.2 The film is extraordinarily regular over the cornea where it is the primary refractive surface of the eye. The mucus within the tear film provides the major structural component of the layer, and recent estimates of its thickness, 30 μm, suggest that it contributes most of the thickness of the tear film. The mucus layer has been estimated to be thicker and more viscous at the very apical surface of the epithelial cells, with a diminution of viscosity towards the tear film surface.3

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