Pressure effects on the endothelium of the trabecular wall of Schlemm's canal: a study by scanning electron microscopy.

The scanning electron microscope was used to compare the appearances of the endothelial monolayer of the trabecular wall of Schlemm's canal in the rhesus monkey after exposure to intracameral pressures of 8, 15 and 22 mm Hg for one hour. Over this pressure range, the bulges in the spindle-shaped structures in the monolayer became rounder in shape and the number of openings on the surface was apparently greater at 22 mm Hg than at 15 and 8 mm Hg. A quantitative comparison between the tissue at 8 and 15 mm Hg showed a statistically significant increase in the number of openings on the bulges at 15 mm Hg.