Schlemm's canal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Canal of Schlemm)
Jump to: navigation, search
Schlemm's canal
Enlarged general view of the iridial angle. (Labeled with older label of 'sinus venosus scleræ' at center top.)
The upper half of a sagittal section through the front of the eyeball. (Canal of Schlemm labeled at center left.)
Gray's subject #225 1005

Schlemm's canal, also known as canal of Schlemm or the scleral venous sinus, is a circular channel in the eye that collects aqueous humor from the anterior chamber and delivers it into the bloodstream.[1]

The canal is essentially an endothelium-lined tube, resembling that of a lymphatic vessel. On the inside of the canal, nearest to the aqueous humor, it is covered by the trabecular meshwork, this region makes the greatest contribution to outflow resistance of the aqueous humor.

Named after Friedrich Schlemm (1795-1858), a German anatomist.

Contents

The canal transfers approximately 2-3 microliters of aqueous humor per minute.[2] If debris builds up, due to infection or injury in the aqueous humor, the canal is blocked and glaucoma is the result.

Canaloplasty is an advanced, nonpenetrating procedure designed to enhance and restore the eye’s natural drainage system to provide sustained reduction of intraocular pressure. Canaloplasty utilizes microcatheters in a simple and minimally invasive procedure. To perform a canaloplasty, a surgeon will create a tiny incision to gain access to Schlemm's canal. A microcatheter circumnavigates Schlemm's canal around the iris, enlarging the main drainage channel and its smaller collector channels through the injection of a sterile, gel-like material called viscoelastic. The catheter is then removed and a suture is placed within the canal and tightened. By opening Shlemm's canal, the pressure inside the eye is relieved.

  1. ^ Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. Dictionary of Eye Terminology. Gainsville, Florida: Triad Publishing Company, 1990.
  2. ^ Johnson MC, Kamm RD. "The role of Schlemm's canal in aqueous outflow from the human eye." Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1983 Mar;24(3):320-5. PMID 6832907.

Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.