Cornea and ultraviolet radiation.

The absorption of ultraviolet radiation in the cornea of rabbit, cat, guinea pig, and rat has been studied. It turned out that about 80% of incident radiation is absorbed at the 290 nm wavelength limit in rabbit and cat, whereas the absorption is considerably lower in guinea pig and rat. In a model experiment based on conditions in the rabbit cornea epithelium, it is shown that the ascorbic acid in these cells is roughly responsible for ultraviolet ray absorption of the same order as proteins and nucleic acids in the 250-290 nm spectral range. This implies that for radiation below 290 nm wavelength also the ascorbic acid should be regarded as a potential target substance which may mediate photophthalmic damage to the tissue. The low absorption of the ascorbic acid compared to the other two components above 290 nm, indicates that the ascorbic acid contributes less in photophthalmic development due to solar radiation.