Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Tonography and Ocular Rigidity

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Ocular Rigidity, Biomechanics and Hydrodynamics of the Eye

  • 560 Accesses

Abstract

Outflow facility is a measurement of the ease in which aqueous humor flows out of the anterior chamber through the primary resistance tract of the trabecular meshwork. Tonography is an adapted procedure of tonometry in which intraocular pressure (IOP) is measured before, during and after applying a weight to the eye, yielding an outflow facility value in μL/min/mm Hg. Ocular rigidity, and pseudofacility impact tonography and interpretation of outflow facility measurements. The tonography method has numerous assumptions and limitations, but it remains a key research tool to measure outflow facility and analyze aqueous humor dynamics. Tonography helps understand how IOP is maintained in the healthy eye and how it is altered in disease states such as glaucoma. This review discusses the development, principles and practice of tonography in addition to the instruments used in tonography.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Carreon T, van der Merwe E, Fellman RL, Johnstone M, Bhattacharya SK. Aqueous outflow - a continuum from trabecular meshwork to episcleral veins. Prog Retin Eye Res. 2017;57:108–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Xin C, Wang RK, Song S, Shen T, Wen J, Martin E, et al. Aqueous outflow regulation: optical coherence tomography implicates pressure-dependent tissue motion. Exp Eye Res. 2017;158:171–86.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Drews R. Manual of tonography. St. Louis, MO: The C. V. Mosby Company; 1971.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  4. Friedenwald J. Contribution to the theory and practice of tonometry. Am J Ophthalmol. 1937;20:985–1024.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Grant WM. Tonographic method for measuring the facility and rate of aqueous flow in human eyes. Arch Ophthalmol. 1950;44(2):204–14.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Jain MR, Marmion VJ. A clinical evaluation of the applanation pneumatonograph. Br J Ophthalmol. 1976;60(2):107–10.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Feghali JG, Azar DT, Kaufman PL. Comparative aqueous outflow facility measurements by pneumatonography and Schiotz tonography. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1986;27(12):1776–80.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Wheeler NC, Lee DA, Cheng Q, Ross WF, Hadjiaghai L. Reproducibility of intraocular pressure and outflow facility measured by pneumatic tonography and Schiotz tonography. J Ocul Pharmacol Ther. 1998;14(1):5–13.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Choplin NT, Lundy DC. Atlas of glaucoma. 1st ed. London: Martin Dunitz; 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Toris CB, Yablonski ME, Wang YL, Camras CB. Aqueous humor dynamics in the aging human eye. Am J Ophthalmol. 1999;127(4):407–12.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Langham ME, Leydhecker W, Krieglstein G, Waller W. Pneumatonographic studies on normal and glaucomatus eyes. Adv Ophthalmol. 1976;32:108–33.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Ebneter A, Wagels B, Zinkernagel MS. Non-invasive biometric assessment of ocular rigidity in glaucoma patients and controls. Eye (Lond). 2009;23(3):606–11.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Moses RA, Becker B. Clinical tonography; the scleral rigidity correction. Am J Ophthalmol. 1958;45(2):196–208.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Dastiridou AI, Ginis HS, De Brouwere D, Tsilimbaris MK, Pallikaris IG. Ocular rigidity, ocular pulse amplitude, and pulsatile ocular blood flow: the effect of intraocular pressure. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2009;50(12):5718–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Detorakis ET, Pallikaris IG. Ocular rigidity: biomechanical role, in vivo measurements and clinical significance. Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2013;41(1):73–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Moses RA. Constant-pressure tonography. AMA Arch Ophthalmol. 1958;59(4):527–31.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Elsheikh A, Geraghty B, Alhasso D, Knappett J, Campanelli M, Rama P. Regional variation in the biomechanical properties of the human sclera. Exp Eye Res. 2010;90(5):624–33.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Coudrillier B, Tian J, Alexander S, Myers KM, Quigley HA, Nguyen TD. Biomechanics of the human posterior sclera: age- and glaucoma-related changes measured using inflation testing. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2012;53(4):1714–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. McBrien NA, Jobling AI, Gentle A. Biomechanics of the sclera in myopia: extracellular and cellular factors. Optom Vis Sci. 2009;86(1):E23–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Becker B, Gay AJ. Applanation tonometry in the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma: an evaluation of decreased scleral rigidity. AMA Arch Ophthalmol. 1959;62(2):211–5.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Drance SM. The coefficient of scleral rigidity in normal and glaucomatous eyes. Arch Ophthalmol. 1960;63:668–74.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Silver DM, Geyer O. Pressure-volume relation for the living human eye. Curr Eye Res. 2000;20(2):115–20.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by an unrestricted departmental grant to Case Western Reserve University from Research to Prevent Blindness.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Eric Chan & Carol B. Toris

  2. Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA

    Carol B. Toris

Authors
  1. Eric Chan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Carol B. Toris
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carol B. Toris .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    Ioannis Pallikaris

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    Miltiadis K. Tsilimbaris

  3. 2nd Ophthalmology Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Anna I. Dastiridou

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Chan, E., Toris, C.B. (2021). Tonography and Ocular Rigidity. In: Pallikaris, I., Tsilimbaris, M.K., Dastiridou, A.I. (eds) Ocular Rigidity, Biomechanics and Hydrodynamics of the Eye. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64422-2_13

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64422-2_13

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-64421-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-64422-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation