Which statement best summarizes tear lens behavior in GP lens fitting?

• A. Tear lens is independent of lens curvature relative to K.
• B. Tear lens magnitude is constant for any GP lens.
• C. Tear lens magnitude is influenced by how steep or flat the lens is relative to K.
• D. Tear lens is determined by tear film thickness alone.

Answer: (C)

The tear lens is the thin layer of tears that sits between the back surface of a GP lens and the cornea, and its optical influence changes with how the lens sits on the eye. Its magnitude depends on the lens’s fit relative to the corneal curvature (K): a lens that is steeper than K tends to alter the tear layer more, increasing its optical contribution, while a flatter-than-K lens reduces the tear layer and its effect. Because this tear-layer power shifts with the curvature difference, the tear lens magnitude is not fixed and is not determined by tear film thickness alone. This is why the statement that the tear lens magnitude is influenced by how steep or flat the lens is relative to K best captures the concept.