Experimental double-perforating injury of the posterior segment in rabbit eyes: the natural history of intraocular proliferation
T. M. Topping, G. W. Abrams and R. Machemer
A reproducible model of double perforating injury of the posterior segment
of the rabbit eye was developed. Immediately after injury, a viterous
condensation was visible between wounds. The scleral exit wound was sealed
by fibroblastic proliferation of probable episcleral origin by the fourth
day and the entrance similarly by the seventh day. Cellular proliferations
originating in the wounds crossed the vitreous cavity following the
vitreous injury tract or condensed vitreous to the disc or to the vitreous
base. The earliest intraocular proliferations, composed of spindle-shaped,
fibroblast-like cells, were seen at day 4. Occasional pigment epithelia
were present in and on these proliferations. Other proliferations occurred
directly on the retinal surface adjacent to the wounds. The transvitreous
proliferations employed the vitreous as a scaffold, while the surface
proliferations used the retinal surface for contact guidance.
