In the course of some experiments on the distensibility of the sclera, an incidental observation was made which led to the experimental production of vesicles and bullae under the corneal epithelium. So far as could be inferred from gross and slit lamp examinations, this experimentally produced condition was the counterpart of what is known to clinicians as bullous keratitis. Since this condition has not heretofore been produced experimentally, so far as I can determine, except by the use of excessive pressure, and as these observations shed new light on the pathogenesis of bullous keratitis, a preliminary report is being made at this time. A detailed report of experiments dealing with the clinical applications, now in progress, will follow at a subsequent date.
In order properly to evaluate the experimental results in the light of the clinical condition, it is necessary first to consider what is meant by bullous keratitis and