The Lens As a Nonuniform Spherical Syncytium

The effective intracellular resistivity Ri of the ocular lens is a measure of the coupling between cells. Since degradation of coupling may accompany cataracts, measurements of Ri are of considerable interest. Experimental results show that the lens is a nonuniform syncytium in which Ri is much higher in the nuclear region than in the cortex. A theory describing the lens as a radially nonuniform spherical syncytium is proposed, solved, and described as a simple equivalent circuit. The impedance of the lens is measured with new circuitry which permits the accurate application and measurement of current and voltage over a wide bandwidth without arbitrary compensation of unstable capacitances. The fit of the nonuniform theory to experimental data is satisfactory and the parameters determined are consistent with theoretical assumptions. In the outer region (cortex) of the lens Ri = 2.4 k omega-cm, probably as a consequence of differences in coupling and cytoplasmic resistivity. The radial resistivity of the cortex is some five times the circumferential resistivity, demonstrating a marked anisotropy in the preparation, probably reflecting the anisotropy in the orientation of lens fibers and distribution of gap junctions. Current can flow in the circumferential direction without crossing from fiber to fiber; current can flow in the radial direction only by crossing from fiber to fiber.