Abstract
As methods of removing corneal epithelium, there are mechanical scraping with a spatula blade, tapping with a gelatin-sticky coated slide glass and chemical deepithelialization with iodine gas or n-heptanol. Using these different methods, we removed the epithelium from rabbit corneas. Following epithelial removal, we performed comparative studies on the wound healing process of the epithelium and keratocytes in the living cornea using a tandem scanning confocal microscope, which is a newly developed instrument that allows in vivo and real time images of the cornea. We also observed denuded corneas histopathologically with both light and electron microscopes. Among the corneas treated by the four different methods, the cornea deepithelialized with iodine gas showed the most deepithelialization and the least damage to keratocytes. The tandem scanning confocal microscope used at this experiment still has slight limitation in the resolution, but it is thought to be a useful tool for observing a living cornea clinically.
