In vivo laser and white-light confocal microscopic findings of human conjunctiva

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To report in vivo laser and white-light confocal microscopic findings of human con)unctiva to investigate the potential application of these confocal microscopes as diagnostic devices for normal and pathologic conjunctiva. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two healthy volunteers, 28- and 35-year-old men, participated in this study. The temporal bulbar conjunctiva, which was approximately 5 mm away from the limbus, was examined by in vivo laser and white-light confocal microscopic analysis. RESULTS: Using laser confocal microscopy, at least two different cell types could be distinguished in both subjects: conjunctival superficial epithelial cells and conjunctival basal epithelial cells. In contrast, conjunctival epithelial cells could not be visualized using white-light confocal microscopy. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that laser confocal microscopy, but not white-light confocal microscopy, can be used to visualize in vivo human conjunctiva. Further investigations in a large number of normal subjects and in patients with conjunctival pathologies are required to fully evaluate the usefulness of this device in daily clinical ophthalmology.