AIM: To examination the thickness of Chinese Descemet's membrane and investigate the correlation with age.

METHODS: Twenty-seven normal corneas with ages ranging from 0.2 to 78y old were collected. All specimens were stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin, and viewed and photographed at ×400 through a calibrated Motic light photomicroscope. Four measurement sites on each specimen micrograph were chosen and the boundary of Descemet's membrane was designated manually, then the Descemet's membrane thickness was measured by the software of Motic Images Plus 2.0 automatically. The relationship between Descemet's membrane thickness and age was analyzed by using linear regression methods.

RESULTS: The thickness of Chinese Descemet's membrane various from 1.78 to 9.30 μm, averaged 4.63±2.00 μm. There is a highly significant positive correlation between age and thickness of Descemet's membrane(r=0.776, P=0.000). The estimated equation that best describes the relationship of thickness with age can be expressed as: Thickness(μm)= 2.010+0.063y.

CONCLUSION: There is a significant positive association between age and the thickness of Descemet's membrane in Chinese people.