[A new method to evaluate retinal adhesive force in living rabbit eye].

A new method to evaluate the retinal adhesive force in rabbit eye in vivo is described. A small dome-shaped retinal detachment (bleb) was made in the posterior pole fundus of Dutch rabbit by injecting balanced salt solution into the subretinal space through a micropipette. The transmural pressure was directly measured with a micropressure measuring system, utilizing the resistance servo-nulling methods when the bleb started to extend again. According to Laplace's law, the retinal adhesive force of normal Dutch rabbits was calculated to be (1.8 +/- 0.2) x 10(2) dyn/cm (n = 84). This value was about 5 times larger than that previously obtained by peeling methods in vitro. Our newly developed method might resolve several problems encountered in the previous methods and allow for the measurement of the retinal adhesive force more physiologically and precisely.