Aim To correlate morphometric parameters of the porcine optic nerve head (ONH) in spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) B-scans with matched histological sections.

Methods Ten porcine eyes were scanned using the Spectralis SD-OCT (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany) at 7 mm Hg and subsequently fixed, cryosectioned and stained with Van Giessen stain. B-scans were matched with histological sections and morphometric parameters measured on both.

Results SD-OCT measurements of the Bruch membrane opening (BMO) cross-sectional diameter and the mean distance from the BMO plane to the anterior surface of the collagenous lamina cribrosa correlated strongly with matched histological measurements (r=0.80 (p=0.005) and 0.83 (p=0.003), respectively) while measurements of the mean prelaminar tissue thickness, cup cross-sectional area and neuroretinal rim cross-sectional area had lower correlation coefficients (r=0.62 (p=0.055), 0.57 (p=0.08) and 0.33 (p=0.354), respectively). SD-OCT measurement of lamina cribrosa mean cross-sectional thickness also showed a lower correlation with matched histological measurements (r=0.64, p=0.048).

Conclusion A high correlation exists between SD-OCT B-scans and matched histological sections for anterior collagenous structures of the ONH, while a lower correlation exists for morphometric parameters involving the prelaminar region and lamina cribrosa thickness.