Photoreceptor density in relation to axial length and retinal location in human eyes

The purpose of the study was to examine the density of retinal photoreceptors and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells in relation to myopic axial elongation in human eyes. Using light microscopy, we assessed the density of photoreceptors and RPE cells at the ora serrata, equator, and midperiphery (equator/posterior pole midpoint), and the RPE cell density additionally at the posterior pole, in enucleated human globes. The study included 78 eyes (mean age: 59.2 ± 15.6 years; range: 32–85 years) with a mean axial length of 27.3 ± 3.6 mm (range: 21.5–37.0 mm). Close to the ora serrata, at the equator and midperiphery, photoreceptor and RPE cell density was 246 ± 183, 605 ± 299 and 1089 ± 441 photoreceptors/mm and 56.1 ± 13.7, 45.2 ± 15.1, and 48.8 ± 15.6 RPE cells/mm, respectively. Densities of both cell types in all three regions were positively correlated with each other (all P