Objective: To establish and evaluate the dry eye model in rats and compare the morphological characteristics of the cornea and conjunctival epithelium of normal and dry eye rats.
Method: Use benzalkonium chloride eye drops to induce dry eyes in rats. After anesthesia, the animals were sacrificed. The cornea and conjunctival tissues of normal and dry eye rats were collected for HE staining, and the superstructure of the rat cornea was examined. Observe the conjunctiva under an electron microscope.
Result: The cornea and conjunctival epithelium of dry eye rats lacked epithelial cells, and the conjunctival goblet cells decreased. Under an electron microscope, the microvilli of corneal and conjunctival epithelial cells of dry eye rats were missing and ruptured. , Basement membrane lysis and intracellular mitochondria lysis.
Conclusion: The rat dry eye model induced by benzalkonium chloride has similar changes in the cornea and conjunctiva after human dry eye. This dry eye model has important reference value in animal experimental research.