Ophthalmologic examination of the normal eye of the koala.

Abstract

The ophthalmic examination of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) was undertaken to describe the normal in vivo structure. Twenty-two of 28 koalas examined were found to have normal eyes. Slit-lamp examination revealed unusual lamellae in the cornea, and mean keratometric readings were 59.3 +/- 3 diopters, corneal endothelial cell area of 381.4 microns2 +/- with a standard deviation of 46.8 microns2. No particular features were seen which would explain the susceptibility of this animal to ocular infection by Chlamydia psittaci.