The Wonders of Tears

The lacrimination in the eyes secretes and produces tears which we call crying. Strong emotions such as sorrow, elation, awe and pleasure, as well as irritation of the eyes, laughing, and yawning may lead to an increased production of tears, or crying. You may only think of tears as those salty drops that fall from your eyes when you cry.

Actually, your tears clean your eyes every time you blink. Tears also keep your eyes moist , which is important for your vision.

In addition, tears help to remove bacteria, dust and other foreign bodies from the exposed part of the eyeball(such as conjunctiva and cornea). The antibacterial effect of tears is greatly influenced by the presence of an enzyme called lysozymes.

There are three significant layers of the tear:

1. The outer lipid layer: which reduces evaporation of aqueous layer of the tear, lubricates the eyelid as they pass over the globe and increases surface tension thereby assisting in the vertical instability of the tear so that they does not overflow the lid margin.
2. The middle aqueous layer: which supplies atmospheric oxygen to the avascular corneal epithelium, acts as an antibacterial revenue, abolishes minor irregularities of the anterior corneal surface and washes away debris.
3. The mucin layer: which converts the corneal epithelium from an oil loving surface(hydrophobic) to a water loving surface(hydrophilic) so that it can be wet by the aqueous component of the tear.

Tear glands produces tears, and tear ducts carry the tears from the gland to the surface of your eye. Problems with the tear system can include too many tears, too few tears, or problems with the tear ducts. Treatment of the problem depends on the cause.