Section of the coats of the human eye at the entrance of the optic nerve to show mode of origin of layers of the retina. From "Operations of the eye," by W. Bowman, 1849. The Bowman's membrane (Bowman's layer, anterior limiting lamina, anterior elastic lamina) is a smooth, acellular, nonregenerating layer, located between the superficial epithelium and the stroma in the cornea of the eye. It is composed of strong, randomly oriented collagen fibrils in which the smooth anterior surface faces the epithelial basement membrane and the posterior surface merges with the collagen lamellae of the corneal stroma proper. In adult humans, Bowman's membrane is 8-12 ?m thick. With aging, this layer becomes thinner. The Bowman's layer, in mammals, is found only in primates. It is named after Sir William Bowman (1816-1892), an English physician, anatomist and ophthalmologist, who discovered this membrane.