As the nerve fibers pass through the lamina cribrosa sclerae they lose their medullary sheaths and are continued onward through the choroid and retina as simple axis-cylinders.

[3] The sparing of this layer is important in the treatment of the disease as it is the basis for connecting retinal prostheses to the optic nerve, or implanting stem cells that could regenerate the lost photoreceptors.

[4] A 2011 study (n=284) concluded that RNFL asymmetry exceeding 9μm may be considered statistically significant and may be indicative of early glaucomatous damage.

[6] RNFL asymmetry has been proposed as a strong indicator of optic neuritis,[7][8] with one small study proposing that asymmetry of 5–6μm was "a robust structural threshold for identifying the presence of a unilateral optic nerve lesion in MS."[9] Optic neuritis is often associated with multiple sclerosis, and RNFL data may indicate the pace of future development of the MS.[10][11] RNFL asymmetry may be produced by glaucoma.

Resesrch in RNFL and optic nerve head (ONH) abnormalities may enable early detection and diagnosis of glaucoma.