Endothelial changes in rabbit corneas. Observation by specular microscopy during storage in McCarey-Kaufman (M-K) medium.

Corneal banks are beginning to screen donor tissue with a specular microscope to detect abnormal endothelium. To determine the appearance of normal corneal endothelium under storage conditions, the endothelium of healthy rabbit corneas was examined with a modified specular microscope while being stored in McCarey-Kaufman (M-K) medium at 4 degrees C. Black areas within endothelial cells and decreased clarity of the endothelial cell borders were observed during storage and were found to be reversible on warming of the M-K medium.