[Fluorescence photometry study of the normal rat retina before and following fluorescein administration]

Semiquantitative fluorescein photometric studies were performed on the retinas of lyophilized rat eyes. Before injecting the fluorescein, the right, dyeless eyes were enucleated under anesthesia with ketamine hydrochloride. The left eyes were removed between 20 seconds and two hours after intravenous injection of fluorescein. Histologic sections of each of the posterior segments were measured fluorophotometrically. The photometric values of most of the fluorescein-dyed retinal sections were higher than those of the contralateral (dyeless) control eyes. With increasing duration of observation the differences between the sections which contained fluorescein and those which did not diminished, although some temporary and limited increases occurred. The higher extinction values of the specimens containing fluorescein are in agreement with the quantitative results of Grimes et al. (1982), who found fluorescein in all retinal layers. Anesthesia-induced acidoses cannot be ruled out may be considered minimal. The information value of quantitative and semiquantative results is certainly superior to qualitative results is certainly superior to qualitative findings.