Ultrastructure Organization of Collagen Fibrils and Proteoglycans of Stingray and Shark Corneal Stroma

Figure 2

Electron micrograph of collagen fibrils (CF) and proteoglycans (PGs) of stingray cornea; (a) part of the anterior stroma showing thin lamellae containing thin CF (20 nm); (b) part of the anterior stroma showing and orthogonal arrangement of the CFs (XCF); (c) part of the middle stroma showing longitudinally running CFs decorated with PGs; (d) part of the middle stroma showing cross section of uniformly distributed CF and PGs; (e) cross section of CF at high magnification showing microfibrils within CF; (f) posterior part of the stroma showing CF, PGs, and DM composed of microfibrils. BM: basement membrane, BW: Bowman’s layer, DM: Descemet’s membrane L: lamellae, CF: collagen fibrils, PG: proteoglycans, and XCF: orthogonal arrangement of the CFs.

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