THE CORNEA IN POLARISED LIGHT (Preliminary Communication)

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Abstract
The cornea is anisotropic, that is, the velocity of a light wave in it is not the same in all directions. It therefore exhibits birefringence. When examined in polarized light a change in birefringence at any point is a measure of stress at that point. Strips of the cornea of cats were examined by this method of photo-elastic analysis; elongation of the strips produced a rapid increase in birefringence. This method of examination might be applied to the intact cornea as a basis for measuring changes in the intra-ocular pressure, or as a method of studying its molecular structure.
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