Benedek G B
Appl Opt. 1971 Mar 1;10(3):459-73. doi: 10.1364/AO.10.000459.
The present work relates the turbidity of the eye to microscopic spatial fluctuations in its index of refraction. Such fluctuations are indicated in electron microscope photographs. By examining the superposition of phases of waves scattered from each point in the medium, we provide a mathematical demonstration of the Bragg reflection principle which we have recently used in the interpretation of experimental investigations: namely, that the scattering of light is produced only by those fluctuations whose fourier components have a wavelength equal to or larger than one half the wavelength of light in the medium. This consideration is applied first to the scattering of light from collagen fibers in the normal cornea. We demonstrate physically and quantitatively that a limited correlation in the position of near neighbor collagen fibers leads to corneal transparency. Next, the theory is extended to predict the turbidity of swollen, pathologic corneas, wherein the normal distribution of collagen fibers is disturbed by the presence of numerous lakes-regions where collagen is absent. A quantitative expression for the turbidity of the swollen cornea is given in terms of the size and density of such lakes. Finally, the theory is applied to the case of the cataractous lens. We assume that the cataracts are produced by aggregation of the normal lens proteins into an albuminoid fraction and provide a formula for the lens turbidity in terms of the molecular weight and index of refraction of the individual albuminoid macromolecules. We provide a crude estimate of the mean albuminoid molecular weight required for lens opacity.
本研究将眼睛的浑浊度与其中折射率的微观空间波动联系起来。这种波动在电子显微镜照片中有所显示。通过检查从介质中每个点散射的波的相位叠加，我们给出了布拉格反射原理的数学证明，该原理我们最近已用于解释实验研究：即光的散射仅由那些傅里叶分量的波长等于或大于介质中光波长一半的波动产生。这一考虑首先应用于正常角膜中胶原纤维的光散射。我们从物理和定量两方面证明，相邻胶原纤维位置的有限相关性导致角膜透明。接下来，该理论被扩展以预测肿胀的病理性角膜的浑浊度，其中胶原纤维的正常分布因存在大量无胶原的区域（即“湖”区域）而受到干扰。根据这些“湖”的大小和密度给出了肿胀角膜浑浊度的定量表达式。最后，该理论应用于白内障晶状体的情况。我们假设白内障是由正常晶状体蛋白聚集成类白蛋白部分产生的，并根据各个类白蛋白大分子的分子量和折射率给出了晶状体浑浊度的公式。我们对晶状体混浊所需的平均类白蛋白分子量进行了粗略估计。
