Purpose:To examine the relationship between corneal in-flammation and corneal lymphangiogenesis after keratoplasty. Methods:.Rat corneal lymphangiogenesis was examined by lymphatic vessel endothelial receptor (LYVE-1) immunohis-tochemistry and whole mount immunofluorescence at 1, 3, 7, 10, and 14 days after corneal transplantation. Corneal inflam-mation was evaluated by inflammation index (IF) grading and NF-κB immunohistochemistry at the same time points. The association between lymphatic vessel counting (LVC) and the IF scores was then examined. Results:.LYVE-1 positive lymphatic vessels occurred in the corneal stroma on day 3,.developed throughout days 7 and 10,.and peaked in number at day 14 after keratoplasty. Corneal inflammation was strong on day 3, and then resolved gradually,.but increased again from days 7 to 14 after the transplantation..LVC was strongly and positively correlated with IF after keratoplasty(r=0.41;P