Morphological evaluation for diagnosis of dry eye related to meibomian gland dysfunction

The evaluation of morphological changes of the acini in the meibomian glands is important for the diagnosis and management of dry eye related to meibomian gland dysfunction. While several tools have been developed to detect meibomian gland structure, infrared imaging is generally used in clinical settings. Unlike the lipid component analysis of tear film in which quantitative analysis is possible, the meibomian glands are limited to qualitative analysis because of the low image quality of the diagnostic tools. This review describes diagnostic tools, especially in terms of morphological evaluation of the acini, which are visualized by the existence of lipid within them.