Nucleus and cell size changes in human bulbar conjunctival cells after soft contact lens wear, as assessed by impression cytology

The aim of this research was to specifically assess the nucleus size and its relationship to cell size for human bulbar conjunctival cells. Impression cytology samples were taken from the nasal side of the intra-palpebral zone of the bulbar conjunctival surface from 20 young adult white European males, half of whom were successful daily soft contact lens wearers. A Millcell^®-CM filter was used, after topical anaesthesia with oxybuprocaine 0.4%, which was stained with Giemsa and colour images taken at 400× magnification by light microscopy. The images were graded and also a 35 mm was prepared. From the projected image, an overlay method was used to outline the borders such that the cell and nucleus areas could be measured by planimetry.