Changes in the rabbit corneal stroma caused by UV-radiation.

Three days after UV-irradiation of the rabbit cornea, there was epithelial loss and stromal oedema, which was most prominent in the anterior 1/4. Many of the keratocytes in this region were killed. The inner 3/4 of the stroma showed a large number of round or oval cells with nuclear fragmentation and abnormal inclusions. These cells were taken to be seriously, though reversibly harmed keratocytes. The tissue structure was normalized within one week, and the UV-induced changes seem to refer to the 290-350 nm interval.