Aggravating action of oxygen on light-induced damage to the albino rat retina

Investigation of factors determining the degree of injury to the structures of the eye under the influence of increased doses af light is an urgent task in ophthalmology. Lightinduced damage of this kind is based on photosensitized free-radical oxygenation [4, 5, 6, 8]. Danger of development of these processes in the retina is determined by several factors: the content of pigmented compounds, which are effective photosensitizers of oxygenation, in the visual cells, the presence of readily oxidized substrates, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, and the protein rhodopsin, containing thiol groups, and an increased concentration of exygen, the consumption of which by the visual cells is increased in light.