The Selenium Content of Tissues of the Human Eye

¹ Departments of Chemistry and Ophthalmology, University of Maryland College Park and Baltimore, Md.

Sirén¹ has postulated that selenium is involved in the excitation process of photosensitization. Selenium was suggested to play a key role as a photoconductor in the vision mechanism. Sirén determined the selenium content of the retina in guinea pig, tern, and roedeer and found large values varying with the species. The content of selenium in the guinea pig retina was about 7 ppm (dry weight), while that in the tern and roedeer was 630 to 810 ppm. These latter values were much higher than have been found in any other animal tissue. No data were given about age, sex, or diet of the animals nor of the selenium content in other tissues of their bodies. If selenium is indeed involved in the vision process, it would be important to know its content and its role in the human eye. This note reports the preliminary results of determination of selenium content of various tissues in the human eye