Conjunctiva : organ and cell culture.

The conjunctiva is the mucous membrane of the eye. It is a delicate transparent epithelium with its own stroma overlying the tough white sclera, which forms the ball of the eye. Only at the circular limbus, where the sclera meets the transparent cornea, and at the eyelids, is the conjunctiva firmly attached, thus permitting free movement of the eye The loose conjunctiva between these points of attachment folds into a blind sac deepest under the upper and lower lids. Removed in one piece from the eye, the conjunctiva is a flimsy sheet (usually with adherent fascial tissue called Tenon's capsule) with an 1l-mm circular defect in the center.