Introduction
Very little is known about the respiration of uveal tissue. Brückner1 measured respiration and anaerobic glycolysis of various parts of the uveal tract in cattle and found the ciliary processes had the highest metabolic activity and the ciliary stroma the lowest. Changes in the metabolic activity of uveal tissue during inflammation were not measured.In this study, respiration of the isolated rabbit iris was measured in vitro (Warburg) as an index of uveal metabolism. Comparisons were drawn between normal and inflamed specimens; the effects of aqueous humor, hyperthermia, triiodothyronine, and corticosteroids were also collated.
Method
Albino rabbits of 1.5 to 2.0 kg were sacrificed by a blow to the back of the neck. This iris was evulsed, intact, through a corneal incision, with care taken to exclude any portion of ciliary body by tearing at the root. The intact iris was then placed in Ringer's solution (Brückner) in