Optical density of the crystalline lens.

The optical density for the noncataractous crystalline lens is written as a sum of two terms, each with a specific dependence on wavelength. The first term, proportional to 1/lambda 2, represents all light-scattering processes in the lens. The second term, assumed significant only for lambda less than or equal to 500 nm, accounts for absorption by lens pigments. By analyzing transmittance data on lenses of subjects aged 21 to 63 years, a spectrum for light absorption by lens pigment is derived and it is shown to be essentially the same for all of the lenses.