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Related Concept Videos

Glaucoma: Overview01:25

Glaucoma: Overview

Glaucoma is an eye condition characterized by increased intraocular pressure that damages the retina and optic nerve, leading to irreversible blindness if left untreated. The human eye has various components, including the cornea, iris, pupil, lens, and optic nerve. Aqueous humor is secreted by the epithelium of the ciliary body in the posterior chamber and flows through the trabecular meshwork and canal of Schlemm, maintaining normal intraocular pressure. The trabecular meshwork and the canal...
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Angle Closure Glaucoma: Treatment

Angle-closure glaucoma, or closed-angle glaucoma, is an eye condition where the iris bulges out and blocks the iridocorneal angle, resulting in a buildup of aqueous humor and increased intraocular pressure. Immediate medical attention is necessary due to the sudden onset of symptoms. The treatment for angle-closure glaucoma includes short-term and long-term approaches. Short-term treatment involves using eye drops like pilocarpine to lower intraocular pressure by increasing aqueous humor...
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Open Angle Glaucoma: Treatment

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Trabecular Meshwork Response to Pressure Elevation in the Living Human Eye
09:03

Trabecular Meshwork Response to Pressure Elevation in the Living Human Eye

Published on: June 20, 2015

Anterior chamber depth and primary angle-closure glaucoma: an evolutionary perspective.

Robert J Casson1

  • 1South Australian Institute of Ophthalmology, Adelaide University, South Australia, Australia. robert.casson@adelaide.edu.au

Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology
|February 23, 2008
PubMed
Summary

Shallow anterior chamber depth, common in Inuit populations, may be an evolutionary adaptation to cold climates. This trait likely evolved in Homo sapiens in northeast Asia to prevent corneal freezing during the last Ice Age.

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Trabecular Meshwork Response to Pressure Elevation in the Living Human Eye
09:03

Trabecular Meshwork Response to Pressure Elevation in the Living Human Eye

Published on: June 20, 2015

Area of Science:

  • Ocular anatomy and evolutionary biology
  • Human adaptation to cold climates
  • Population genetics and migration

Background:

  • Anterior chamber depth is an inheritable trait influenced by age, gender, and race.
  • A hypothesis proposed that shallow anterior chambers in Greenlandic Inuit evolved as a thermoregulatory adaptation to prevent corneal freezing.
  • This study revisits the thermoregulatory hypothesis for shallow anterior chambers.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To re-evaluate Alsbirk's hypothesis on the thermoregulatory role of shallow anterior chambers.
  • To consider recent population genetic data regarding human migration and adaptation to cold environments.
  • To examine the evolutionary implications of shallow anterior chambers in Homo sapiens.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on anterior chamber depth and thermoregulation.
  • Analysis of population genetic data to infer migration patterns.
  • Consideration of natural selection principles in ocular adaptation.

Main Results:

  • The hypothesis that shallow anterior chambers serve a thermoregulatory function is considered sound.
  • Evidence suggests shallow anterior chambers may have evolved in Homo sapiens in northeast Asia.
  • The adaptation is linked to resisting corneal freezing in cold climates during the last Ice Age.

Conclusions:

  • Shallow anterior chamber depth is likely an evolved thermoregulatory adaptation to cold climates.
  • This adaptation may have occurred in Homo sapiens populations in northeast Asia during the last Ice Age.
  • Further research into ocular adaptation and human evolution is warranted.