[Wound healing of the corneal posterior surface in animal experiments]

Autoradiographic studies using tritiated thymidine as a precursor of DNA synthesis show that the process of wound healing of the corneal endothelium in both rhesus monkeys and rabbits following scarification and cryocoagulation takes place for the most part by means of cell proliferation. After injection of tritiated thymidine into the anterior chamber immediately prior to sacrifice, autoradiographically labeled flat mounts and cross-section preparations of the corneas of 7 rhesus monkeys and 14 rabbits were examined at lesion ages ranging from 4 hours to 10 days. In the monkeys scarcely 10% of the endothelial cells in the areas of the corneal lesions or at their borders were in the S-phase in the autoradiographically labeled flat mounts 24 hours to 3 days after injury, whereas up to 39% of those in the rabbits were seen to be so after 18 hours. In the monkeys one could discern mitoses between the 2nd and 5th days, and amitoses (binuclear cells) were found in 1-day and 3-day animals. In rabbits numerous mitoses could be discerned between the 1st and 5st days, but no multinuclear cells were seen. Healing of the corneal endothelium in the monkeys occurred some-what later and was less pronounced than in the rabbits.