A new look at lubrication of the ocular surface: fluid mechanics behind the blinking eyelids

The Ocular Surface
Ivan Cher

Abstract

The concept of the dacruon was presented by the author in this journal in July 2007. Dacruon, defined as "the body of unshed fluid, constantly occupying the ocular surface sac [OSS], comprising the mucoaqueous pool [MAP] and its covering lipid sealant," prompts a fresh consideration of OSS lubrication. The author notes scientific agreement that in the preocular, interpalpebral OSS (the menisco-optical domain), the mucous gel of the MAP adheres to subjacent bulbar epithelium. In the retropalpebral recesses (the "lubrication domain"), lid and globe epithelia are juxtaposed. The author proposes that microvilli and glycocalyx "grasp" the bases of dacruon mucous gels, enabling lid and globe to "drive" fluid movement. The adherent gels and associated low viscosity mucous modules mitigate friction. There is no substantive lipid layer. The modules abut, "mirror-image" fashion, forming an interface concentric with the eyeball surface about midway between the palpebral and bulbar mucosae. Here, kinetic energy originating from both lid and globe has been progressively dissipated by fluid friction, residual movement reduced to creeping flow. Shear stress is displaced from the rapidly moving epithelia, to occur between the more remote, slow...Continue Reading

References

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Citations

Apr 20, 2013·JAMA Ophthalmology·Tannin A SchmidtBenjamin D Sullivan
Sep 4, 2013·Contact Lens & Anterior Eye : the Journal of the British Contact Lens Association·Charles J WhiteMark E Byrne
Feb 4, 2012·Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology·Ivan Cher
Apr 21, 2016·Progress in Retinal and Eye Research·Nathan EfronTawnya Wilson
Jul 12, 2013·Advances in Colloid and Interface Science·Cheng-Chun PengC J Radke
Jul 24, 2018·Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics : the Official Journal of the Association for Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics·In Cheon YouKyung Chul Yoon
Oct 19, 2017·Current Eye Research·John D RodriguezMark B Abelson
Feb 18, 2020·Biomarkers in Medicine·Maria C EdmanSarah F Hamm-Alvarez
Jan 8, 2019·F1000Research·Shruti Aggarwal, Anat Galor
Jun 24, 2020·International Journal of Molecular Sciences·Gysbert-Botho van Setten
Jul 29, 2020·Diagnostics·Wolfgang G K Müller-Lierheim
Jul 31, 2019·Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde·Gysbert Botho van SettenChristophe Baudouin
Jan 9, 2021·Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery·José Javier López-CanoIrene Teresa Molina-Martínez
Nov 20, 2020·BMC Ophthalmology·J NěmčanskýP Mašek
Jan 27, 2019·Journal français d'ophtalmologie·A HerbautA Labbé
Apr 20, 2021·Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA·Yu-An ChangYi-Chen Sun
Jul 24, 2021·Taiwan Journal of Ophthalmology·Raied FagehiAli M Masmali
Jan 14, 2020·Journal français d'ophtalmologie·M RobinA Labbé

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