In vivo osmotic pertubation of intercellular fluid channels in the rabbit corneal endothelium.

An in vivo rabbit corneal model was used to evaluate morphological changes in the corneal endothelium associated with osmotically increasing fluid movement from the anterior chamber into the stroma. When the corneal stroma is rendered more hypertonic than normal by immersing the scraped epithelial side of the cornea in a hypertonic sucrose solution, intercellular channels and apical pores at the Y-junctions between endothelial cells become greatly enlarged. The foregoing changes are reversible and do not appear to result in damage to the corneal endothelium. These observations suggest that specific intercellular channels in the corneal endothelium may provide pathways for the movement of fluid from the aqueous humor into the stroma.