Biomechanical considerations of high myopia: Part II--Biomechanical forces affecting high myopia

Assuming the possibility of a scleral pathogenesis hypothesis for the development of high myopia, an examination of biomechanical forces affecting myopic eyes is presented. The biomechanical considerations include Laplace's law applied to the eye, balloon expansion dynamics, and the "porthole" effect derived from mechanical engineering principles. Other biomechanical considerations include Coleman's pressure head theory of accommodation, extraocular muscle stresses, and the role of uveoscleral outflow. Balloon expansion dynamics cast doubt on the common usage of Laplace's law governing fluid filled spheres for estimating coat stresses in myopia. Coleman's theory of accommodation, featuring an accommodation induced pressure head between the anterior and vitreous chambers is reanalyzed. Experimental testing of this hypothesis is still lacking. Uveoscleral outflow computations show that the vitreous chamber distension of high myopia may dramatically increase the importance of uveoscleral outflow in the pressure dynamics of high myopia. These biomechanical force phenomena clearly provide fertile ground for several areas of research that could illuminate the great puzzles of myopia.