Human corneo-conjunctival limbus anatomy assessed by scanning electron microscopy.

Limbus is formed by the junction of the corneal and conjunctival epithelia, where the epithelium gradually becomes thicker toward the sclera.[1] It is a 1–2-mm-wide anatomical ring-shaped transition zone between the opaque sclera and the clear cornea.[2] Anatomically, the limbus contains important features related to eye functions including fibrovascular ridges radially oriented known as palisades of Vogt that host corneal stem cells for epithelial turnover.[1] Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is a technique for obtaining high-resolution images of biological and nonbiological specimens.

Our aim was to show the ultrastructure of the corneal limbus using SEM [Fig. 1].[3]

Figure 1

(×150): Red arrow: conjunctiva; yellow arrows: limbal cryptx; green arrows: stromal projections; blue arrow: epithelial basement membrane. Superficial stromal projections around the limbal crypts providing a niche for stem and epithelial cells. There is a transitional zone form peripheral projections to a smoother epithelial basement membrane centrally

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