The pattern of distribution of intraocular pressure in the albino rabbit.

The distribution pattern of intraocular pressure (IOP) was studied in a population of normal albino rabbits to find out whether IOP is Gaussian or distributed log-normally. The average IOP was 17.5 +/- 3.1 mmHg (mean +/- SD, n = 175) with a coefficient of variation of 17.7%. Using optimized graphical analysis, it was found that the IOP in the rabbit is distributed log-normally. This is in good agreement with the conclusions obtained in a recent study of normal human subjects, using the same analytical procedures. The diurnal variations in IOP cannot be a major contributing factor to the log-normal pattern of distribution of IOP in the albino rabbit, since a log-normal pattern of distribution was observed after the exclusion of the evening (high IOP) data.