Abstract
Adult, albino rats kept in continuous light have been shown to develop severe retinal degeneration. Both light and electron microscopic evidence has indicated that substantial destruction occurred in the receptor cell layer when low levels of light (less than 20 Ft-C) were used to produce the degeneration (1–10) and that both the receptor cell and pigment epithelial layers were seriously damaged when high levels of light (more than 100 Ft-C) were used to induce degeneration (11–13). Incandescent lighting was only slightly less effective than fluorescent lighting in producing light-induced, retinal degeneration (8). Spectral sensitivity studies have suggested that the shorter wavelengths of visible light produce the most damaging effects on the retina (14–16).