Experimental argyrosis: ultrastructural localization of silver in rat eye.

The present paper provides a description of the ultrastructural localization of silver deposits in eyes of adult rats exposed to silver either perorally or intraperitoneally. Silver was found in lysosomes of most cell types, an exception being the neural retina. Extracellularly, silver was present in vascular basal laminae and in connection with connective tissue fibers. Systemic silver intoxication was found to result in a rapid and long-lasting deposition of the metal in the eye.