The three-dimensional organization of lens fibers in the rabbit. A scanning electron microscopic reinvestigation.

The importance of the present reinvestigation of the three-dimensional structure of lens fibers in the rabbit is that it has shown the presence of all types of membrane specializations described before in one single lens of one species, the restricted distribution of some specializations, and the conformational changes within one fiber. Interlocking protrusions are present throughout the whole lens and must be considered as the main anchoring processes in the rabbit. Ball-and-socket junctions are present in restricted regions and can be considered an additional anchoring processes. Undulations of the apical and lateral edges of the hexagonal fibers and folds and bends of the lateral surface have a limited distribution. It is postulated that they may play a role in lens changes during accommodation.