The cornea is the clear, dome-shaped window at the front of the eye. It has no blood vessels, getting oxygen from the air and tear film and nutrients from the aqueous humour. It provides about two-thirds of the eye's total focusing power and is one of the most densely innervated tissues in the body.
| Location | Front of the eyeball, continuous with the sclera at the limbus |
|---|---|
| Parts |
|
| Nerve Supply | Long ciliary nerves (from the nasociliary branch of CN V1) |
| Blood Supply | Avascular; nourished by the tear film, aqueous humour and limbal capillaries |
Transmits and refracts light into the eye, providing most of its focusing power. It also forms a tough protective barrier at the front of the eye.
Its rich sensory supply explains why even tiny corneal scratches are very painful, and it underlies the corneal blink reflex (CN V1 sensory, CN VII motor). Fluorescein dye shows epithelial defects as green under blue light. Contact lens wear raises the risk of bacterial and Acanthamoeba keratitis. Refractive surgery such as LASIK reshapes the corneal stroma to correct focusing errors.
A scratch of the corneal epithelium causing pain, watering and a foreign body sensation. Most heal within one to two days.
Infection of the cornea, strongly linked to contact lens use. It can scar the cornea or perforate it and needs urgent intensive antimicrobial drops.
Progressive thinning and cone-shaped bulging of the cornea, usually starting in adolescence. It causes irregular astigmatism and can be slowed with corneal cross-linking.
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