A medical researcher named Harminder Dua from the University of Nottingham, England, has discovered a new human body part that was previously unknown. The new human body part has been discovered in the cornea of human eyes.
Until now we knew that there are five layers in the cornea – Bowman’s layer, Corneal endothelium, Corneal epithelium, Corneal stroma and Descemet’s membrane.
But during research, Harminder Dua, Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences found that there is a new layer at the back of the cornea except the aforementioned five layers. He named the new corneal layer, Dua’s Layer. Dua’s layer is “skinny but tough,” and just 15 microns thick (25,000 microns is approximately an inch).
Dua and his team discovered the new layer of the cornea when injecting air into the cornea of eyes. At that time, the team was viewing the cornea using an electron microscope to scan each separated layer.
Dua said, “This is a major discovery that will mean that ophthalmology textbooks will literally need to be re-written. Having identified this new and distinct layer deep in the tissue of the cornea, we can now exploit its presence to make operations much safer and simpler for patients. From a clinical perspective, there are many diseases that affect the back of the cornea which clinicians across the world are already beginning to relate to the presence, absence or tear in this layer.”
Dua and his team believe that a tear in Dua’s layer is the cause of corneal hydrops, which occurs when water from inside the eye rushes in and leads to a fluid buildup in the cornea.
However, the discovery of this new layer is expected to help improve patient outcomes for those undergoing corneal grafts and transplants. The study has been published in the journal Ophthalmology.
Source: Live Science
Thanks To: Huffington Post
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