Deformation of the Normal Monkey Optic Nerve Head Connective Tissue after Acute IOP Elevation within 3-D Histomorphometric Reconstructions

Abstract

ONH connective tissue alterations after acute IOP elevation involve regional thinning, stretching, and deformation of the lamina cribrosa and peripapillary sclera that are minimal to modest in magnitude. The time-dependent character of these alterations and their compressive, expansile, and shear effects on the axons, the astrocytes, and the laminar and posterior ciliary circulations remain to be determined.