Abstract
The existence of the tear film is well known but its structure is less well understood. It is unwise to consider the tear film in isolation from blinking. Blinking has a profound influence upon the structure, stability, and function of the tear film. Many glands from different sites contribute to the clear fluid that bathes the surface of the eye. Chemically tears are very similar to dilute blood, with a reduced protein content. (The pH of tears approximates to that of blood plasma but it has a slightly greater osmotic pressure.) The film covers the exposed surface of the eye and provides an optically smooth interface with the atmosphere. Lacrimation is well known throughout the animal kingdom, but crying with sorrow and laughter are probably confined to man. This is probably an adjunct to the vast range of facial expressions available to man. The parasympathetic nerve fibers that are secretomotor to the lacrimal gland are distributed for much of their course with the facial nerve, the motor nerve of facial expression.
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© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Dilly, P.N. (1994). Structure and Function of the Tear Film. In: Sullivan, D.A. (eds) Lacrimal Gland, Tear Film, and Dry Eye Syndromes. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 350. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-2417-5_41
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-2417-5_41
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