The sclera is the tough, fibrous outer coat of the eye, commonly known as the "white of the eye," that surrounds and protects the more delicate internal structures while helping to maintain the eyeball's shape. Composed largely of densely packed collagen and elastic fibers, with relatively few blood vessels and nerv…
The sclera is the tough, fibrous outer coat of the eye, commonly known as the "white of the eye," that surrounds and protects the more delicate internal structures while helping to maintain the eyeball's shape. Composed largely of densely packed collagen and elastic fibers, with relatively few blood vessels and nerves, the sclera provides mechanical strength and serves as the attachment site for the extraocular muscles that move the eye. At the front it is continuous with the transparent cornea, and at the back it is pierced by the optic nerve. Its rigidity helps resist intraocular pressure and external trauma, making it important in both ocular health and surgical practice. Research in this journal touches on the sclera in the context of cataract and refractive surgery; one study compares a superior scleral incision with a temporal corneal incision on the steep axis to correct pre-existing corneal astigmatism, illustrating how the choice of incision site, including through the sclera, can influence surgical outcomes. Related work on intraocular lens placement and on raised intraocular pressure further reflects the surgical and structural relevance of the eye's outer coats. This page gathers peer-reviewed, open-access ophthalmic research relevant to the sclera and ocular surgery.
4 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 4 articles above have been cited 19 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Sclera, linking to each citing work.