This experiment was performed in an attempt to reproduce endophthalmitis phacoanaphylactica in guinea-pigs sensitized to lens protein. Twenty-four albino guinea-pigs were immunized with soluble proteins of beef lenses with complete Freund´s adjuvant. The immunizations were repeated 4 times at intervals of 5 days. Three days after the last injection, the lens capsule was ruptured and stirred with Ziegler´s knife. The eyes were removed at various intervals and histological sections were studied. Ten animals, not sensitized,. were used as controls.
Biomicroscopy revealed mild to severe inflammations of the anterior uvea and the-cornea in treated animals, whereas no definite reactions in control animals. Histological studies showed reactions in the cornea, iris and ciliary body but no sign of inflammation in the choroid or the retina. These reactions consisted mainly of the infiltrations with polymorphonuclear neutrophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes and plasma cells, and occasional epitheloid cells and macrophages. These findings were similar to the histology found in human endophthalmitis phacoanaphylactica.
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