The affected cortex and nucleus are
removed through an incision made in the
anterior capsule, either whole or, as is now
more common, in fragments following
phacoemuisification and aspiration.
Phacoemuisification is the mechanical
breaking up (emulsification) of the lens by
a hollow needle vibrating at around 40000
cycles per second, coupled with the simultaneous
irrigation and aspiration of the
emulsified particles from the anterior
chamber through the needle tip (Brunner
and Suddarth, 1982) {Figure 1).