Table 3.

Techniques for Imaging the Meibomian Glands

Technique	Lid Region	Grading Scheme	Reference
Meiboscopy	LL	0 = no dropout	Pflugfelder et al.55
		1 = ≤33%
		2 = 34%–66%
		3 = ≥67
		Percent of partial or total gland dropout
		Separate measurement over the nasal and temporal halves of the lower lid
Meibography (contact; retro-illumination)	LL	Total number of glands lost of eight central of the lower lid. Half gland loss was given a grade of 0.5	Mathers et al.96,97
		1 = normal	Jester et al.105
		2 = gland visible w/decreased absorption
		3 = acini atrophic; duct visible
		4 = no structures visible
	LL	0 = no dropout	Shimazaki et al.86,87
		1 = ≤50% dropout
		2 = ≥51% dropout
	LL	Dropout: (nasal half, lower eyelid)	de Paiva et al.106
		0 = no dropout	Composite score with lids signs and expressibility (0–11)
		1 = ≤25%
		2 = ≤50%
		3 = ≤75%
		4 = ≤100%
	LL ≅ 15 glands	Gestalt method:	Nichols et al.107
		1 = no partial glands (PGs)
		2 = <25% PGs
		3 = 25%–75% PGs
		4 = >75% PGs
Noncontact	LL and UL	0 = no loss,	Arita et al.3
		1 = gland loss <33% of total area
		2 = loss, 33%–67%
		3 = >67% loss
		Scores of upper and lower lid summed
		Scale range 0–6
Confocal microscopy	LL and/or UL	Acinar density: number of glands//mm2 (based on a 400 × 400 micrometer field) mean acinar diameter	Matsumoto et al.79

LL, lower lid; UL, upper lid.