A KNOWLEDGE of the distribution of wavelengths and energies involved in the production of keratitis by ultraviolet radiation has theoretic and practical importance. Such information is fundamental to an understanding of the harmful photobiologic processes in the cornea and is prerequisite to the determination of exposure hazards and protective devices. The present report attempts to show quantitatively what bands of the ultraviolet portion of the spectrum are responsible for the production of keratitis and what relation the keratitis band has to the erythema band, to the characteristic absorption bands of some proteins and to the absorption of several types of common glass.
A curve relating wavelength to the quantity of energy just necessary to produce keratitis represents the action spectrum for keratitis, whereas a curve relating wavelength to the absorption of the corneal epithelium represents the absorption spectrum of the corneal epithelium. It is one aim of this study to