Vitreo-scleral fluid transfer in the rabbit

Experiments were carried out to see whether a radioactive tracer placed in the vitreous of a rabbit eye could be detected on the sclera. A solution of Xenon-133 dissolved in saline was injected into the vitreous of six rabbits and collecting tubes containing activated charcoal were placed on the sclera. The presence of Xenon in these tubes confirmed that vitreoscleral transfer had occurred. It was calculated that on average, 2% of the Xenon had appeared over the whole sclera. A mathematical analysis of the shape of the activity curve of the tracer on the sclera revealed that its appearance was probably due to diffusion across the outer layers of the eye.