Meibography: A review of techniques and technologies

Meibomian glands play a significant role in tear production by contributing lipids to the superficial tear film.1 Dysfunction of the meibomian glands destabilizes tears resulting in evaporative dry eye.2 and 3 Historically, the meibomian glands were assessed in an ex vivo fashion through histologic studies. However, innovations in ocular imaging have advanced significantly in recent decades to include meibography. Meibography is an imaging study developed 35 years ago exclusively for the purpose of observing the morphology of meibomian glands in vivo. 4 and 5 In this review of meibography, we briefly describe the etiology of meibomian gland dysfunction and then discuss various meibography techniques, technologies, and methods of image analysis. We close with a review of the literature, crediting various studies for the significant contributions made toward our current understanding of the meibomian glands.