The Trabecular Mesh of the Eye

The aqueous humour is the fluid of the eye interior that provides nourishment to the cells of the eye and helps maintain the eye’s rounded shape. This dramatic 3D biomedical visualization depicts the drainage of aqueous humour, into the anterior chamber of the eye and then out through the trabecular meshwork surrounding the periphery of the iris at the base of the cornea. Normal drainage of this fluid is essential to the maintenance of normal eye pressure in the eye’s interior.

Inadequate drainage of aqueous fluid out of the eye leads to an increase in internal eye pressure, a condition known as glaucoma. Abnormally increased eye pressure causes damage to the optic nerve where it originates in the retina at the back of the eye interior. Glaucoma is a serious condition afflicting over 70 million people worldwide. It is a major cause of irreversible vision loss and blindness.