OECD 438: Isolated chicken eye test (with optional histopathology)

The OECD 438: Isolated Chicken Eye Test is performed in vitro and determines whether a substance is an eye irritant.  The effect of the substance is assessed quantitatively by measuring corneal swelling, and qualitatively by studying the opacity of the cornea and damage to the eye based on fluorescin retention. Together, these assessments lead to the generation of an irritancy classification, which predicts the damage the substance could have in vivo. Substances can then be classified by whether they are eye irritants or can cause serious eye damage. 

Histopathology of the cornea is an optional extra that can improve the predictivity of the effect of the test agent in vivo.