Vascularization of the cornea of the rat in riboflavin deficiency, with a note on corneal vascularization in vitamin a deficiency

Abstract

Vascularization of the cornca of the rat in the absencc of anteccdent pathology is probably a specific and the most reliable critcrion of riboflavin deficiency. Its initiation and repair may be used for testing the biological activity of compounds structurally rclatcd to riboflavin. Thc facts that the invading capillaries arc easily visible in the living animal and that the growth and rcgrcssion of the blood vcssels arc under dietary control and for a considerable period of time unaccompanied by other pathological reactions, make this method very suitable for the study of problcms related to capillary growth. Wc belicve that the bcst hypothesis in explanation is that the vascularization is a response to asphyxia of the tunica propria. © 1939, Rockefeller University Press., All rights reserved.