[Pathogenesis of transparency disorders of the optical environment of the eye. IV. Electron microscopy study of the vitreous body in chalcosis].

The authors proved, based on electron microscopic analysis that the vitreous body of the rabbit creates under physiological conditions a regular network of collagenous fibrils with a different cell population. The cells can be divided into three basic types: 1. Large cells with a lobular nucleus and well differentiated cytoplasm and multiple organelles which ensure a high metabolic activity. 2. The second type are cells of an elongated shape with an oval nucleus surrounded by a thin layer of cytoplasm with a small amount of organelles. 3. The third type are large globular cells with a homogeneous structureless mass. The basic cytoplasm with the nucleus and a negligible amount of organelles is pushed to the cell surface and thus forms a thin layer beneath the plasmalemma. Contrary to the pathologically altered vitreous body, the authors did not detect on the sound vitreous body any phagocytosing cells. On the other hand, the long-term effect of copper in experimental chalcosis markedly alters the cytological character of the structure of the vitreous body. Cell types typical for a sound vitreous body were not found in the affected eye in chalcosis. In addition to rare destroyed cells containing autophagosomes of varying size with incomplete plasmalemma at some sites there is the important finding of two different forms of phagocytes in the pathological vitreous body: 1. Neutrophil granulocytes and 2. Macrophages containing large phagosomes in the cytoplasm. Their function is to eliminate destroyed tissues and engulfing of copper particles.