Fluorescein Staining in an Autoimmune Dry Eye Rat Model to Examine Corneal Damage

Use fluorescein scanning to measure corneal damage by adding 2 microliters of 0.2% fluorescein to the rat cornea. With a gloved finger, passively open and close the rat eyelids three times to spread the fluorescein dye on the surface of the eye.

After 1 minute, use a 3-milliliter syringe to draw 1 milliliter of saline. Then, position the syringe about 2 to 3 millimeters anterior to the cornea, and gently apply saline onto the eye. With the background lights switched off, acquire images under the cobalt blue filter of an ocular imaging microscope.