Do microwave ovens affect the eyes?
The cataractogenic effects of the microwave oven on rat eyes were investigated histologically. Twenty-one adult Wistar-Albino rats (2-2.5 months old) were divided into three groups (n = 7): a control group (sham-exposed) and two experimental groups. The experimental rats was confined in special cages and placed next to the closed door of a microwave oven. The first experimental group was given 15 minutes of daily exposure and the second, 30 minutes, for 1 month. Biomicroscopic examination detected no pathological damage to the lens in the experimental rats. Histologically, there was a lens of single-layered epithelium in the control group. In the first experimental group, there was slight pleomorphism in the superficial epithelial cell contours and vacuolizations in the lens fibers; the second experimental group, had pronounced pleomorphism and pyknosis of the nuclei in the superficial epithelium. Some of the superficial epithelial cells had disappeared and were histologically observed
