Corneal wound healing. I. The movement of polymorphonuclear leukocytes into corneal wounds.

In the current American ophthalmic literature it has been assumed that polymorphonuclear leukocytes arrive at corneal wounds by migration through corneal stromal tissue from perilimbal vessels.1-4The idea, first expressed by Julius Cohnheim in 1867,5that inflammatory cells can also reach the edges of corneal wounds by passage from "conjunctival secretions" directly into the wound defect has largely escaped notice. The experimental observations in this report emphasize the importance of the latter route of arrival. They are in accord with the recent publications of Heydenreich6,7in Germany and confirm Cohnheim's original observations. Materials and Methods Albino rabbits weighing 2-3 kg. were anesthetized with intravenous injection of sodium pentobarbital. Clean, linear incisions of uniform depth were made in the cornea with razor edge either centrally or adjacent to the limbus. The animals were killed at intervals varying from 0 minutes to 2 weeks from the time of wounding.