Measurement of centripetal migration of normal corneal epithelial cells in the mouse.

Fine punctate marks were made in normal corneas of mice using a needle rotating in a mixture of India ink and thorium dioxide. After 7 days, the marker was visible in the stroma and also in epithelial cells which had moved away from the stromal marks and towards the center of the cornea. The mean distance between these labels at the end of 7 days was 94 microns +/- 14 (SEM). The median distance migrated was about 17 microns per day. This figure represents the distance through which superficial and wing cells had migrated; the distance migrated by basal cells was not determined.