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Purpose:

To determine the subbasal nerve density and tortuosity at 5 corneal locations and to investigate whether these microstructural observations correlate with corneal sensitivity.

Method:

Sixty eyes of 60 normal human subjects were recruited into 1 of 3 age groups, group 1: aged< 35 years, group 2: aged 35-50 years, and group 3: aged> 50 years. All eyes were examined using slit-lamp biomicroscopy, noncontact corneal esthesiometry, and slit scanning in vivo confocal microscopy.

Results:

The mean subbasal nerve density and the mean corneal sensitivity were greatest centrally (14,731±6056 μm/mm 2 and 0.38±0.21 millibars, respectively) and lowest in the nasal mid periphery (7850±4947 μm/mm 2 and 0.49±0.25 millibars, respectively). The mean subbasal nerve tortuosity coefficient was greatest in the temporal mid periphery (27.3±6.4) and lowest in the superior mid periphery (19.3±14.1). There was no …