CYCLIC OCULAR HYPERTENSION IN CETACEANS |
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| Authors: | William W. Dawson J. Pete Schroeder Judyth C. Dawson Paul E. Nachtigall |
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| Affiliation: | Departments of Ophthalmology and Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610;Naval Ocean Systems Center, Hawaii Laboratory, Kailua, Hawaii 96734;Student Health Care Services, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610;Naval Ocean Systems Center, Hawaii Laboratory, Kailua, Hawaii 96734 |
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| Abstract: | In the laboratory, intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured in each eye of two adult Tursiops truncatus and one Grampus griseus . Measures were made in alternation between eyes over a time span. Means and standard deviations were calculated. Mean IOP's ranged from 33.4 mm Hg (SD = 2.4) in the male Tursiops to 24.6 (SD = 2.3) in the female Tursiops . IOP in the Grampus was intermediate. Tonograph functions for the Tursiops over periods greater than 25 min had a cyclic character with maxima and minima. These cycles were fitted with a polynomial function with periods of 15 min (female) and 20 to 26 min (male). There was no significant correlation of the IOP variations with time between eyes in either Tursiops . Compared to humans, these cetaceans exhibit clinical ocular hypertension bilaterally. The range of pressures they exhibit, over time, is much greater than reported previously for several terrestrial mammals. |
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| Keywords: | Tursiops truncatus bottlenose dolphin Grampus griseus Risso's dolphin intraocular pressure IOP cetacean eye |
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