Figure 9
From: Dynamics of tear fluid desiccation on a glass surface: a contribution to tear quality assessment
Diagram representing the stepwise appearance of the morphological domains of a normal tear microdesiccate and its probable modification in patients with evaporative Dry Eye. Formation of zones I, II, III and transition band during normal tear desiccation in vitro is an orderly and asynchronous process with only a minor overlapping in the formation of zones II and III. In contrast, production of tear microdesiccates either from normal tear subjected to conditions enhancing evaporation or from tear fluid sampled from patients with Dry Eye may be a quicker process in which major fern-like crystalloids of zones II and III become mostly replaced by homogeneously distributed and synchronously formed groups of small crystalloids. ∆II and ∆III stand for modified zones II and III, respectively.