Experimental ocular siderosis after extrabulbar administration of iron

The authors studied the penetration of iron administered extrabulbarly into the ocular tissues of rabbits. It was found that iron passes from the orbit into the eyeball and accumulates in considerable quantities in the sclera, choroid, retina, ciliary body, and even in the vitreous and corneal epithelium. However, light microscopy failed to show any damage to the ocular tissues. The mechanism by which iron penetrates into the eyeball is discussed, and comparison is made between changes in the tissues, which characterise siderosis produced by an intrabulbar iron foreign body, and those in which an extrabulbar foreign body is involved.