Recent Perspectives on Corneal Nerves: A Short Review

Joy Sarkar*

Recent Perspectives on Corneal Nerves: A Short Review

The eye is one of the most fascinating organs of the human body and has numerous parts each
of which plays a critical role in providing vision.

As the well-known saying goes “the eyes are the window to the soul”,
for the layman, the cornea is indeed that part of this window
through which light enters the eye and along with the lens is focused onto the retina.

The retina in turn absorbs and converts the light into electrochemical impulses
which are then transferred to the brain via the optic nerve.

The cornea is the outermost transparent, clear and avascular
connective tissue layer that forms the front part of the eye.

Structurally and anatomically the main layers of the human cornea include,
the epithelial layer or epithelium, the Bowman’s membrane, the stromal layer or stroma,|
the recently identified Pre-Descemet’s layer known as Dua’s layer

The purpose of this short review is to highlight some important studies
and findings in the field of corneal nerve research.

Corneal nerves originate from the trigeminal nerve and enter the corneal stroma
after which they form a subbasal plexus below the epithelium,
and extend into thinner nerves containing nociceptors at the corneal surface

Ophthalmol Open J. 2017; 2(1): 12-19. doi: 10.17140/OOJ-2-108