Scanning electron microscopy of the trabecular meshwork in normal and glucomatous eyes

The ultrastructure of trabeculectomy specimens obtained from enucleated eyes was compared to that of 23 similar specimens extracted from glaucomatous eyes. It was thus possible to study the trabecular meshwork from Schwalbe's line to the iris root, the corneal endothelium, the canal of Schlemm, its inner and outer walls, and the collectors. In the glaucomatous specimens it was possible to verify, for the first time, two aspects which show clinical correlation. The first aspect is pseudoexfoliation: we find in the trabecular meshwork two types of deposits in great quantity. One is formed by a dense irregular fibrillar net, with a diameter oscillating betwwwn 600 and 830 A, surrounding the trabeculae; the others are pigment granules. Both fill the intertrabecular spaces. The first type is also observed on the corneal endothelium lining Schwalbe's ring, stressing the visibility of the intercellular spaces. The second aspect is the pectinate ligament (mesodermic remnant) in late-onset congenital glaucoma. Its pattern is characteristically different from that of the corneoscleral meshwork.