The Pathological Research Of Rat Retina And Optic Nerve In A Free-drink Model Of Chronic Alcoholism

Objectives：Using a free-drink model of chronic alcoholism in rats to study thepathological changes of chronic alcoholism on the retina and optic nerve.Methods：Thirty-six wistar male rats were randomly divided into two groups: controlgroup and ethanol group，each group have eighteen rats. The control group fed with waterand general diet. The ethanol group fed with general diet and water which contained alcoholconcentration of6%、9%、12%(V/V),each concentration lasted for5days, then the alcoholconcentration changed for20%(V/V)。the pathological examination are taken at the endof2months、3months and4months.Results：The retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) of the rats of ethanol group are significantlyless than that of the control group(P<0.01) and the number of axon per unit area in ethanolgroup has significant difference compared with control group（P<0.01）at the end of3and4month.Conclusion：The free-drink model of chronic alcoholism can be used for the researth ofthe change of human retinal and optic nerve in chronic alcoholism.