The infant corneal endothelium
L. Speedwell, P. Novakovic, E. S. Sherrard and D. S. Taylor
Institute of Child Health, London, England.
Specular microscopy of the in vivo corneal endothelium of 48 clinically
normal eyes of 31 infants less than 1 year old revealed a regular mosaic of
small cells. The cell population density of individuals varied greatly, as
it does in age-related adults. Reexamination of five eyes indicated a
reduction of the cell population density during the first year. This change
could be accounted for by corneal growth in the absence of endothelial
mitoses and not necessarily by true cell loss. There were morphologic
indications of mitoses, but their interpretation is open to doubt.
