ABSTRACT
The presence of abnormality within the human lacrimal drainage system can be determined with syringing, probing, fluorescein dye disappearance test, and Jones test.But the degree of partial obstruction cannot be determined with these qualitative tests.For quantitative measurement of drainage capacity of nasolacrimal duct, authors designed an instrument that measures the fluid flow within the nasolacrimal duct from distilled water at constant height. We measured the drainage capacity with a stainless steel canula in 109 persons (218 eyes)without epiphora and impaired drainage system.The means of the drainage capacity in all cases are 4.42 +/-0.87 ml/min in right eye and 4.28 +/-0.83 ml/min in left eye.And the means of the drainage capacity in all cases are 4.46 +/-0.89 ml/min in male and 4.25 +/-0.92 ml/min in females.There are no statistic significances in laterality and sex. Normal values of drainage capacity of nasolacrimal ducts in Korean adults were suggested quantitatively according to age and sex.These values obtained in this study might help us to make early diagnosis and a proper plan of treatment in the partial obstruction of nasolacrimal duct, the differential diagnosis between epiphora from the partial obstruction within the nasolacrimal duct and those from other causes.
