Morphological features of cells along Marx's line of the marginal conjunctiva of the human eyelid

Purpose The aim of this paper was to assess the morphological features of cells stained with rose Bengal along the human eyelid marginal zone (Marx's line). Methods Impression cytology (IC) specimens were taken using a Millicell-CM filter unit placed across Marx's line of the lower eyelid of 10 healthy male adults (aged 18 to 57?years). In vivo staining with rose Bengal was used in some subjects to highlight the line. The filters were stained with Giemsa. Cell and nucleus areas and dimensions were measured and nucleo-cytoplasmic ratios estimated using different calculations. Results The width of the Marx's line was up to 0.3?mm. The impression cytological specimens included three to eight lines of squamous-appearing cells. The cells had average cell areas ranging from 702 to 1,119?mu m2 (group mean and SD of 894 +/- 136?mu m2). Most cells (average 93 +/- 4 per cent) contained a nucleus but with sizes from 3 to 124?mu m2 including a proportion (40 per cent) of pyknotic nuclei. The average nuclear areas ranged from 13.7 to 57.9?mu m2, with a group mean area of 37.0 +/- 15.0?mu m2. Nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratios were typical of squamous cells with NUCYT (area of nucleus / cell area - area of nucleus) mean values of 0.046 +/- 0.017, while the CYT/NUC (cell length - length of nucleus / length of nucleus) was 5.85 +/- 1.55. Conclusions These preliminary results indicate that cells along the Marx's line are moderate-sized squamous cells with nuclei smaller than in normal bulbar conjunctival cells or pyknotic (shrunken) or the cells may be anucleate.