The Role of Fluorescein Angiography and Optical Coherence Tomography in the Examination of Circulatory Disorders of the Optic Disc

Abstract

The retina is supplied by a double circulatory system: the outer layers of the retina (the photoreceptors and the pigment epithelium) are avascular and supplied by the choriocapillary network via diffusion. The inner layers of the retina are supplied by the central retinal artery. An anastomosis between the two circulatory systems is rare. The submacular and the peripapillary regions are supplied by the short posterior ciliary arteries. Both circulatory systems belong to the system of the ophthalmic artery. The blood from the choroidea is drained through the vortex veins. The vortex veins open into the inferior and the superior ophthalmic veins. The inferior ophthalmic vein ends in the pterygoid venous plexus, whereas the superior ophthalmic vein opens into the cavernous sinus. There is collateral circulation between the inferior and superior ophthalmic veins. The central retinal vein drains blood from the retina and the prelaminar part of the optic nerve, and opens into the cavernous sinus. Therefore, on the venous side, there is communication between the retinal and the choroidal circulation.