Fluid flow in the anterior chamber of a human eye

A simple model is presented to analyse fluid flow in the anteriorchamber of a human eye. It is shown that under normal conditionssuch flow inevitably occurs. The flow, whose reduced Reynoldsnumber is small, is viscosity dominated and is driven by buoyancyeffects which are present because of the temperature differencebetween the front and back of the anterior chamber. In casesof severe eye trauma or as a result of certain diseases andmedical conditions, particulate matter may be introduced intothe anterior chamber. The motion and distribution of such particlesis analysed and it is shown that the model is capable of predictingwell-established and observed features that may be present ina traumatized eye such as hyphemas, keratic precipitates, hypopyonsand Krukenberg spindles.