Corneal endothelial cell density and morphology in rabbits' eyes using contact specular microscopy/Densidade celular e morfologia das celulas do endotelio da cornea de coelhos obtidas com microscopia especular

The goal of this study was to describe the normal values of corneal endothelial cell density and hexagonality in healthy rabbits ' eyes using contact specular microscopy. Both eyes of 18 rabbits, males and females, of different ages were evaluated. The eyes were divided into three groups of 12 each according to the age range of the animals: G1 (6 months old), G2 (12 months old), and G3 (48 months old). Parameters studied included mean endothelial cell density and hexagonality. For Group I, the mean cell density was 2307 cells per [mm.sup.2]. For GII, the mean cell density was 1895 cells per [mm.sup.2]. For GIII, the mean cell density was 1818 cells per [mm.sup.2]. Cell density decreased significantly with aging (P