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Normal and degenerating collagen fibrils in the eye A pair of negative images of collagen fibrils in the eye of a patient with glaucoma revealed by a transmission electron microscope. Collagen fibrils are made up of a vast number of individual collagen molecules, which align in a very specific way to generate the repeating stripes across the fibril. On the left, the fibrils appear to be normal, but in a different region (shown on the right) they are losing this regular structure and unravelling to reveal the component thread-like microfibrils (each composed of many collagen molecules). The collagen fibrils are involved in a filtration system (the trabecular meshwork) through which the fluid in front of the iris drains away as new fluid is made. The unravelled collagen may be a factor in the build-up of fluid pressure inside the eye - the main feature of glaucoma. The intact fibrils are approximately 120 nanometres (0.00012mm) in diameter. Rob Young. |
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