ABSTRACT
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY The conjunctiva is a thin mucous membrane that lines the posterior surface of the lids (palpebral con junctiva) and reflects forward at the fornix or recess onto the globe (bulbar conjunctiva). In animals lower than primates, it is also reflected over a cartilage and glandular tissue to form the membrana nictitans, or third eyelid in the medial-ventral cul-de-sac. Depending on the location, the epithelium of the conjunctiva is either stratified columnar or stratified squamous, and it is continuous with the corneal epithelium (8.1)1. The stem cells of the palpebral conjuctiva (rabbit) are located at the mucocutaneous junction and migrate toward the fornix2. Presumably, the stem cells for the bulbar conjunctiva reside at the limbus with the corneal stem cells.
