Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 13, 2025

In vivo Structural Assessments of Ocular Disease in Rodent Models using Optical Coherence Tomography
Published on: July 24, 2020
Optical coherence tomography of the Tokay gecko (Gekko gecko) eye
Seokmin Go1, Seonmi Kang1, Jun Kwon2
1Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
Objective:
To provide images of the anterior and posterior structures of the gecko eye using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).
Animals And Procedures:
Eight ophthalmologically normal Tokay geckos (Gekko gecko) were used. The nose-cloaca distance and body weight were measured for each gecko. Tomographic images were obtained using SD-OCT without the use of anesthetic or mydriatic agents. The central corneal thickness (CCT), the anterior chamber depth (ACD), and the length of the conus papillaris (CP) were manually measured using OCT images. The thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) around the CP and the retinal thickness in all four quadrants (superior, nasal, inferior, and temporal areas) were automatically measured using the OCT software program.
Results:
The mean values of the nose-cloaca distance and body weight were 13.8 ± 0.9 cm and 41.3 ± 9.0 g, respectively. The mean values of CCT, ACD, and CP length were 177.6 ± 20.9 µm, 1205.0 ± 79.9 µm, and 1546.4 ± 208.8 µm, respectively. The mean value of RNFL thickness was 52.0 ± 8.2 µm, and the superior region was the thickest. The mean value of total retinal thickness was 202.5 ± 9.4 µm, and the temporal region was the thickest.
Conclusions:
Tomographic images of the anterior and posterior segments of the living gecko eye could be obtained using the OCT unit. Multiple retinal layers and anatomical features of the CP were identified.
Related Concept Videos
Anatomy of the Eyeball
Accessory Structures of the Eye
Glaucoma: Overview
Focusing of Light in the Eye
Computed Tomography
The technique was invented in the 1970s and is based on the principle that as X-rays pass through the body, they are absorbed or reflected at different levels. In the technique, a patient lies on a motorized platform while a computerized axial tomography (CAT) scanner rotates...
Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy

