The development and application of a white-light confocal microscope in the morphologic and anatomic characterization of cells within the cornea

Microscopy lies at the cornerstone of contemporary histology and microanatomy. Cellular research, whether with the standard light microscope or the electron microscope, reveals valuable insights into cellular function, structure, and physiology. Unfortunately, conventional modes of microscopy only produce static, two-dimensional images of the tissue under investigation. With the white-light confocal microscope, high resolution, high magnification, dynamic images can be obtained in vivo. This study examines the development and application of a white-light confocal microscope for the characterization of cells within the normal cornea and in certain pathological states of the cornea of the eye. This instrument facilitates the correlation of cell structure and function in the most natural state.; A confocal microscope utilizing a fiber-optic light source and single-sided disc design was constructed for these studies. The normal anatomy of the cornea was characterized using the white-light confocal microscope and compared to that observed with the compound research microscope and the electron microscope. Confocal microscopy provided a dynamic, three-dimensional examination of the corneal epithelium and the subepithelial nerve plexus. The stromal keratocyte nuclei and the corneal endothelium could be observed. No stains or dyes were necessary with the white-light confocal microscope, and since the microscope is used in vivo, fixation artifacts were avoided.; Characteristics of Fuchs' dystrophy, posterior polymorphous dystrophy, contact lens related corneal changes, infectious keratitis, and ophthalmia nodosa were granular dystrophy, a new type of amyloid dystrophy, Chandler's dystrophy, Cogan's dystrophy, contact lens related corneal changes, infectious keratitis, and ophthalmia nodosa were identified in vivo utilizing the white-light confocal microscope. These studies show, for the first time, that the white-light confocal microscope can be used to characterize these pathologic conditions. This new instrument promises to be a useful tool in the field of confocal microscopy, extending studies presently carried out in tissue culture, or tissue section to in vivo conditions.