. The functional capacity of
the lens to refract is contingent on relatively unimpeded passage of
light through its medium. When cataract develops and disrupts the
transmission of light through the lens, the structure/function
relationship between the proteins and the optical properties is
altered. Histological and microscopic studies that have looked at
fine structure in lenses with cataract, or in older lenses that show
changes similar to those found in cataractous lenses, indicate the
major structural degradations that underlie the process of opacifi-
cation