We thank Dr Villani and associates for enlightening the readership regarding the additional morphologic features that can be studied by using confocal microscopy. Confocal microscopy allows one to see an order of magnitude more than can be seen with other noninvasive light microscopy methods. As was so clearly articulated in their letter, a resulting strength of this tool is its ability to study many cellular features quantitatively.

Confocal microscopy technology is not static, and as new devices are developed and refined, their uses will expand. Although our perspective was limited to the cornea, new instruments will find new applications, such as examining the conjunctiva and meibomian glands. The sky is the limit.