The clinical importance of late radiation damage to the cornea has recently been emphasized.1 It was thought advisable to supplement this clinical study by a series of experiments. Corneal lesions were produced by irradiating rats' eyes and shielding the rest of the body. The conditions of irradiation were kept as close as possible to the usual factors in radiotherapy. The possibilities of preventing or alleviating corneal damages in these animals were explored by the administration of cysteine before the irradiation.
Historical Survey
The first stage in the history of experimental x-ray damage to the eye in general and to the cornea in particular consists of a few isolated reports on animal experiments. These experiments were usually done on a small number of animals, and the radiation factors given are too incomplete to allow a full evaluation of the results. Most of the early authors concerned themselves more with the