Fig. 5. Scale (3.5:1) schematic 3D-CADs depicting a normal human lens anterior suture pattern at birth (A) and an abnormal anterior suture pattern of a surgically removed (intracapsular technique) cortical cataract (37-year-old man; B). Because lens growth is inside-out throughout life, progressively younger to older growth shells can be removed to expose suture patterns formed during specific periods of development, growth, and age. The early cortical cataract had nine nonidentical and asymmetrically positioned suture subbranches extending from an irregular Y suture. By superimposing schematic 3D-CADs of suture patterns from representative growth shells extending from the adult nucleus to the superficial cortex in such a lens, the sutural anatomy of a cortical cataract lens can be reconstructed as it existed in situ from birth through the time of surgery. Stereo scale schematic 3D-CADs depicting the three-dimensional anterior (C and D) and posterior sutural anatomy (E and F) of the early cortical cataract shown in B. It can be seen clearly that abnormal suture formation, from birth through adulthood resulted in continuous abnormal suture planes of comparable shape (conical or cuneiform) and size (progressively larger as a function of depth or age), and in analogous locations as typical cortical opacities seen by slit-lamp biomicroscopy.