SCLEROTIC A

(Lat.), n. f. Skler(sklar)-ot(ot)'ik-a3. Fr., sclerotique. Ger.Jiarte (oder wei e) Augenhaut. A dense, tough, resisting, and inelastic membrane, also called the sclerotic coat or the sclerotic, which forms the posterior four fifths of the external tunic of the eye (see cuts under EYE). It is made up of coarse fibrillse of connective ti ue gathered in bundles which are interlaced at various angles and united by a homogeneous cement. It is perforated behind by the optic nerve, and is continuous in front with the cornea. It is covered behind by the capsule of Tenon, and in front by the ocular conjunctiva. In the s. of many animals bony plates are often found. [F; L, 12.] [s. 461]