THE FINE STRUCTURE OF EXTRACELLULAR MATERIAL IN THE PECTINATE LIGAMENT (TRABECULAR MESHWORK) OF THE HUMAN IRIS

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Abstract
In the trabecular meshwork of adult and infant human eyes, the following types of formed extracellular material have been found: (1) Unit fibrils of collagen, running longitudinally in the core of a beam and densely packed; also found in the clear zone where they are much less dense and less regularly arranged. (2) "Macrofibrils", found only in the infants'' eyes, with a similar periodicity and staining properties to unit fibrils and differing only in diameter. (3) Amorphous material, which possibly is elastin, present in great amount in the infant but rarely seen in the adult. (4) Sheath material with a varying periodicity from 450 A to 1000 A, often appearing amorphous at low magnifications and, in some sections, closely resembling small diameter fibers previously described in the cornea. (5) "Curly collagen", probably a variety of "long spacing collagen", with a major periodicity of 800-1050 A, unstained by phosphotungstic acid, sparse in the infant and abundant in the adult, and of uncertain origin. The relationship of age to the amount and nature of these materials has been discussed. The development of simple glaucoma in relation to these changes remains uncertain.

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