Objective evaluation of experimental ocular irritation.

After topically administered nitrogen mustard the irritative effect on the pupil, intraocular pressure, protein concentration of the aqueous humor and on the vessels of the iris and conjunctiva was quantified. The protein level in aqueous was determined by refractometry. The degree of hyperemia of conjunctiva and iris was determined by measuring the amount of Evans blue dye present in the tissue minutes after intravenous administration. A reproducible relationship was obtained using these methods to evaluate the degree of irritation produced by nitrogen mustard.