Quantitative corneal anatomy in emmetropic subjects

PURPOSE. Currently there is little information available about the corneal thickness values of healthy emmetropic subjects. Therefore, the authors decided to analyze the corneal thickness in healthy emmetropic subjects. METHODS. The authors analyzed the difference in thickness values between the thinnest corneal site and the central and paracentral cornea in 124 eyes of 124 healthy emmetropic white subjects. RESULTS. The mean difference between the thinnest site of the cornea and the thickness values obtained in the areas analyzed was as follows: 12±6 μm center; 140±19 μm superonasal; 133±23 μm nasal; 117±26 μm inferonasal; 122±19 μm superotemporal; 89±22 μm temporal; and 99±29 μm inferotemporal (p<0.001; one way analysis of variance test). CONCLUSIONS. In healthy emmetropic white subjects the thinnest site of the cornea is statistically lower than the central and paracentral cornea.