Collagen fibril orientation in the human corneal stroma and its implication in keratoconus.

Abstract

The normal human corneal stroma shows a considerable degree of structural anisotropy. It is characterized by two preferred collagen fibril orientations orthogonal to each other. Alteration of the regular orthogonal arrangement of the fibrils in keratoconus may be related to the biomechanical instability of the tissue.