Optical and Morphometric Characteristics of the Cornea and Anterior Chamber of the Eye of Soviet Chinchilla Rabbits

Purpose: to study the parameters of the cornea and anterior chamber of the Soviet Chinchilla rabbit by Scheimpflug imaging, OCT of the anterior segment and endothelial biomicroscopy. Methods. Photoregistration, scheimpflug tomography, OCT, and endothelial biomicroscopy of the cornea under intravenous anesthesia were performed on 30 eyes of 30 male rabbits. Statistical data processing was performed using the SPSS 26.0 software package. Results. The obtained data of optical and morphometric parameters corresponded to similar parameters of the New Zealand white rabbit. In 32.5 %, the cell area was in the range from 400 to 500 microns, in 31.9 % — in the range of 300–400 microns, and in 11.6 % and 14.0 % it was in the range of 200–300 and 500–600 microns, respectively. The majority of cells (56.6 %) were represented by hexagonal cells, 20.3 % — pentagonal and 16.6 % — heptagonal. The amount of reverse light scattering of the cornea decreases in all layers from the center to the periphery. According to OCT data, the average thickness of the rabbit cornea epithelium was 44.19 ± 5.10 microns, the average thickness of the stroma was 343.23 ± 41.40 microns, the thickness of the cornea as a whole in the central zone was 388.37 ± 41.45 microns. The correlation analysis data showed the presence of a strong and moderate relationship between the volume of the anterior chamber, the diameter of the pupil and the magnitude of the iridocorneal angle. Conclusion. Optical and morphometric characteristics of the cornea and anterior chamber of the Soviet Chinchilla rabbits eye can be useful in planning experiments using these animals in ophthalmology. There were no significant differences in the refractive and morphological properties of the cornea between rabbits of the Soviet Chinchilla breed and the New Zealand white rabbit. The direct relationship between the volume of the anterior chamber, the diameter of the pupil and the magnitude of the iridocorneal angle, which is significant for the hydrodynamics of watery moisture and surgical manipulations on the anterior segment, is of interest.