Trabecular meshwork
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| Trabecular meshwork | |
|---|---|
| Enlarged general view of the iridial angle. (When enlarged, visible with older label of 'trabecular tissue') | |
| Gray's | subject #225 1006 |
| MeSH | Trabecular+Meshwork |
The trabecular meshwork is an area of tissue in the eye located around the base of the cornea, near the ciliary body, and is responsible for draining the aqueous humor from the eye via the anterior chamber (the chamber on the front of the eye covered by the cornea). The tissue is spongy and lined by trabeculocytes, it allows fluid to drain into a set of tubes called Schlemm's canal flowing into the blood system.
The meshwork is divided up into three parts, with characteristically different ultrastructures:
- Inner uveal meshwork - Closest to the anterior chamber angle, contains thin cord-like trabeculae, orientated predominantly in a radial fashion, enclosing trabeculae spaces larger than the corneoscleral meshwork.
- Corneoscleral meshwork - Contains a large amount of elastin, arranged as a series of thin, flat, perforated sheets arranged in a laminar pattern.
- Juxtacanalicular tissue (also known as the cribriform meshwork) - Lies immediately adjacent to Schlemm's canal, comprised of connective tissue ground substance full of glycoaminoglycans and glycoproteins. This thin strip of tissue is covered by a monolayer of endothelial cells.
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[edit] External links
| Sensory system - Visual system - Eye - edit |
|---|
| Fibrous tunic: Conjunctiva | Sclera | Cornea | Schlemm's canal | Trabecular meshwork
Uvea: Choroid | Iris | Pupil | Ciliary body Retina : Macula | Fovea | Optic disc Anterior segment (Anterior chamber, Aqueous humour, Posterior chamber, Lens) | Posterior segment (Vitreous humour) |
