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Conventional transmission electron microscopic (TEM) images of the juxtacanalicular tissue (JCT) region of the trabecular meshwork (TM) show flow passages that are much too large to generate significant outflow resistance. The goal of the current study was to use quick-freeze/deep-etch (QF/DE), a technique that better preserves extracellular matrices, to determine if extracellular matrix material fills all the apparently ‘open-spaces’ that were observed using conventional TEM. Normal adult human eyes were fixed by immersion or under flow at pressures of 15 or 45mmHg. The TM and the inner wall of Schlemm's canal (SC) were examined using QF/DE and compared to the observations using conventional TEM. The structure of the TM, as seen using QF/DE, showed much greater three dimensional ultrastructural detail than was seen with conventional TEM. Open space was confirmed to be present between the …