Studies on the Structure of the Vitreous Body*

Only a few studies have been reported on the biochemistry of the vitreous body in the developing eye. Bernbridge and Pirie (1) determined the total hexosamine and the total nitrogen content of the filtered vitreous body of rabbits after birth and found that during the first three weeks there was a decrease in both the nitrogen and the hexosamine concentration. Schweer and Siidhof (2) confirmed our earlier findings (3) that the hexosamine content of the vitreous body of cattle varies with the age of the animal. Boyer et al. (4) found that in growing calves the increase in the amount of “residual proteins,” determined as the weight of the sediment after high speed centrifugation, is proportional to the weight of the vitreous body. Studies on the ascorbic acid, calcium, hyaluronic acid and protein content of the bovine vitreous body in the course of embryonic and postnatal development are reported in this paper. Some of this work has been presented previously in a short communication (3). Studies on the ascorbic acid, hyaluronic acid and protein content of the vitreous body of adult steers have been reported elsewhere (5).ls 2, 3