Fig. 8. Reis-Bucklers dystrophy. Top left. Slit lamp photograph of eye of 26-year-old woman with recurrent erosions exhibits typical superficial reticular opacities. Top right. Phase-contrast microscopy demonstrates degeneration of dark-staining basal cells and fragmentation of Bowman's layer (*) by nodular fibrous pannus (paraphenylenediamine, × 800). Bottom. Transmission electron micrograph confirms thin remnants of disarrayed Bowman's layer (B) and apparent continuity (at arrowhead) between basal cell cytoplasm (E) and degenerate cellular debris (D) within Bowman's layer. Basement membrane complexes are discontinuous and lack anchoring fibrils (× 30,000).