Abstract
Purpose
To describe the fibrillar architecture of the posterior cortical vitreous and identify variations across eyes of different axial lengths in vivo.
Methods
Sixty-four eyes of 32 subjects were examined with swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT). Grading of vitreous degeneration, presence of vitreous cisterns/lacunae, posterior hyaloid status, directionality of vitreous fibers and their relations to vitreous spaces, and lamellar reflectivity of the posterior vitreous were assessed.
Results
A consistent pattern of fibrillar organization was discovered. Eyewall parallel fibers formed a dense meshwork over the retinal surface and fibers oriented in a perpendicular fashion to this meshwork were found to envelop the various vitreous spaces, intersecting at variable angles of insertion to the eyewall parallel fibers. Lamellar reflectivity suggestive of splitting of the cortical fibrillar meshwork was detected in 27 eyes (42%) with 56% of these eyes demonstrating perpendicularly oriented intersecting fibers. Fifty-six percent of eyes with lamellar reflectivity had an axial length > 25 mm.
Conclusion
SS-OCT imaging revealed fibrillar organization of the posterior vitreous. Eye wall parallel hyperreflectivity of cortical vitreous was a universal finding. This pattern is suggestive of a splitting of cortical vitreous tissue and may represent a precursor to vitreoschisis. Perpendicular fibers appear to be important constituents of the walls of the various liquid vitreous spaces.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Schaal KB, Pang CE, Pozzoni MC, Engelbert M (2014) The premacular bursa’s shape revealed in vivo by swept-source optical coherence tomography. Ophthalmology 121(5):1020–1028
Pang CE, Schaal KB, Engelbert M (2015) Association of prevascular vitreous fissures and cisterns with vitreous degeneration as assessed by swept source optical coherence tomography. Retina 35(9):1875–1882
Vaz-Pereira S, Dansingani KK, Chen KC, Cooney MJ, Klancnik JM Jr, Engelbert M (2017) Tomographic relationships between retinal neovascularization and the posterior vitreous in proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Retina 37(7):1287–1296
Johnson MW (2010) Posterior vitreous detachment: evolution and complications of its early stages. Am J Ophthalmol 149(3):371–382 e371
Liu JJ, Witkin AJ, Adhi M et al (2014) Enhanced vitreous imaging in healthy eyes using swept source optical coherence tomography. PLoS One 18(7):9
Itakura H, Kishi S, Li D, Akiyama H (2015) En face imaging of posterior precortical vitreous pockets using swept-source optical coherence tomography. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 56(5):2898–2900
Spaide RF (2014) Visualization of the posterior vitreous with dynamic focusing and windowed averaging swept source optical coherence tomography. Am J Ophthalmol 158(6):1267–1274
Gupta P, Yee KM, Garcia P, Rosen RB, Parikh J, Hageman GS, Sadun AA, Sebag J (2011) Vitreoschisis in macular diseases. Br J Ophthalmol 95(3):376–380
Sebag J (2014) Vitreous in health and disease. Springer, New York
Itakura H, Kishi S, Li D, Nitta K, Akiyama H (2014) Vitreous changes in high myopia observed by swept-source optical coherence tomography. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 55(3):1447–1452
Sebag J (2004) Anomalous posterior vitreous detachment: a unifying concept in vitreo-retinal disease. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 242(8):690–698
Itakura H, Kishi S (2011) Aging changes of vitreomacular interface. Retina 31(7):1400–1404
Hogan MJA, A J, Weddell JE (1971) Histology of the human eye: an atlas and textbook. W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia
Fine HF, Spaide RF (2006) Visualization of the posterior precortical vitreous pocket in vivo with triamcinolone. Arch Ophthalmol 124(11):1663
Acknowledgments
We appreciate the work of Camila Engelbert for the schematic illustration.
Funding
This research was supported by the Macula Foundation, Inc. The funding organization played no role in the design or conduct of this study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
R. Dolz-Marco is supported by research grants from Alcon, Allergan, Bayer, Genentech, Heidelberg Engineering, Novartis and Thea Author. M. Engelbert consultant to Bayer and Genentech. O.Gal-Or and Q. Ghadiali declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Institutional review board approval was obtained through the Western Institutional Review Board. This study complied with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and adhered to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Informed consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard tojurisdictional claims in published maps and institutionalaffiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gal-Or, O., Ghadiali, Q., Dolz-Marco, R. et al. In vivo imaging of the fibrillar architecture of the posterior vitreous and its relationship to the premacular bursa, Cloquet’s canal, prevascular vitreous fissures, and cisterns. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 257, 709–714 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-018-04221-x
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-018-04221-x