Figure 4.

Parasagittal section through the upper rat eyelid at postnatal week 3. The microscopic appearances were almost identical with those of adult lids. (a) NADPH-d stain. Meibomian glands (MGs) are adjacent to the mucosal border (C) and like adult glands, are intensely NADPH-d positive, except the ducts (d) which stain yellow; scale bar = 500 µm. (b) Inset from the previous figure: NADPH-d positive nerve fibers (arrows) and submucosal and septal blood vessels are less numerous. Nerves are visible as fine fibers running in the septa (s) between the acini; scale bar = 100 µm. (c) Fully developed Meibomian gland acini (MGs) and septa (s). Orbicularis oculi muscle fibers (m) are visible on the right. Haematoxylin and eosin staining; scale bar = 100 µm.