GROWTH IN MASS AND VOLUME OF THE HUMAN LENS IN POSTNATAL LIFE

Abstract

The postnatal growth in mass and volume of the human lens is different from that of most structures associated with the nervous system. Examination of the available published data has yielded records of the weights and volumes of approximately 230 fresh and presumably normal human lenses, and we have been able to supplement these with records of the weight of the lens in ten full term new-born children.¹ These data are sufficient to permit tracing a curve for the postnatal growth of the lens and the computation of certain constants. They are not sufficiently extensive to warrant analytic treatment of the records for subjects in the first decade. GROWTH OF THE LENS IN WEIGHT Tables 1, 2 and 3 and figures 1 and 2 illustrate the growth of the lens in mass. The lens has a mean weight of almost 66 mg. at birth. This weight is increased about