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Hydrodynamics of Meniscus-Induced Thinning of the Tear Film

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Lacrimal Gland, Tear Film, and Dry Eye Syndromes 2

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 438))

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  • 46 Citations

Abstract

A concave liquid meniscus is always formed rather rapidly when the surface of a liquid film meets a solid surface that displays partial wetting, that is, the equilibrium contact angle is less than 90°.1 The same phenomenon is commonly witnessed in the climbing of liquids even against gravity in narrow capillaries and around wettable surfaces placed in a pool of liquid. Similar lacrimal menisci are observed around foreign surfaces (e.g., contact lenses) placed in the tear film, and also along the upper and lower eyelids.2 After eyelid opening, the border between a lacrimal meniscus and the tear film thins due to Laplace pressure or a “capillary-suction” engendered by the concave meniscus. Continued local thinning adjacent to the meniscus results in the appearance of a “black line” when a fluorescein-stained tear film is viewed under blue light.2

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur, Kanpur, India

    Ashutosh Sharma, Sanjay Tiwari & Rajesh Khanna

  2. Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UK

    John M. Tiffany

Authors
  1. Ashutosh Sharma
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  2. Sanjay Tiwari
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  3. Rajesh Khanna
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  4. John M. Tiffany
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    David A. Sullivan  & Darlene A. Dartt  & 

  2. Louisiana State University Medical Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

    Michele A. Meneray

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© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Sharma, A., Tiwari, S., Khanna, R., Tiffany, J.M. (1998). Hydrodynamics of Meniscus-Induced Thinning of the Tear Film. In: Sullivan, D.A., Dartt, D.A., Meneray, M.A. (eds) Lacrimal Gland, Tear Film, and Dry Eye Syndromes 2. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 438. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5359-5_59

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5359-5_59

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-7445-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-5359-5

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