Epithelial cell sloughing off

Transmission electron micrograph showing a superficial corneal epithelial cell sloughing off from the surface. As it does so the desmosomal attachments holding it to the surface dissociate and the nuclear membrane within the cell is lost. To the left of the section there are sucessive layers of normal epithelium but they are abbutting abnormal epithelium towards the right of the section. Keratin tonofilaments are present in the region of abnormal epithelium and in the cell which is detaching.