Slit-lamp studies on the flow of aqueous humour.

IN the intriguingproblem of thedynamics ofaqueous humour there has recently been a shift in emphasis from what one might call the strictly biochemical approach, to a consideration of the bulk flow of aqueous humour utilizing electronic devices and tracer substances. This study is based on direct observation of the rate of flow of aqueous humour on 88 glaucomatous and normal patients. Since the time of Ehrlich (1882) it has been known that fluorescein, instilled into the conjunctival sac, readily permeates the cornea and appears in the anterior chamber. Here its concentration may be measured by means of a slit lamp after the method of Amsler and Huber (1946). Use of these two observations has formed the basis for observing fluctuations in the rate of flow of aqueous humour wherein fluorescein is utilized as a tracer substance (Langley and MacDonald, 1952).