Neoplastic Diseases of the Choroid
A variety of tumors, including hamartomas and neoplastic tumors of the choroid, may lead to serous and less often to hemorrhagic detachment of the macula. Examples used in this text…
Macular Dysfunction Caused by Retinal Vascular Diseases
Diseases affecting primarily the retinal arteries, capillaries, and veins or any combination of the three may be the underlying cause of central vision loss. Angiography provides information concerning alterations in…
Heredodystrophic Disorders Affecting the Pigment Epithelium and Retina
Some of the heredodystrophic disorders appear to affect primarily the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and only secondarily the retina (e.g., Best’s disease). Others, such as retinitis pigmentosa, appear to affect…
Optic Nerve Diseases that may Masquerade as Macular Diseases
Diseases that primarily affect the optic nerve may occasionally involve secondarily the macular area or may be mistaken for retinal diseases. Some of the most frequent of these diseases are…
Tumors of the Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE)
The terms “hamartoma,” “choristoma,” “phacoma (mother spot),” and “nevus” are used to describe benign developmental tumors or placoid lesions. Stedman’s Medical Dictionary defines a hamartoma as: “a focal malformation that…
Macular Dysfunction Caused by Vitreous and Vitreoretinal Interface Abnormalities
Diseases affecting primarily the vitreous and vitreoretinal interface are associated with a variety of macular lesions causing loss of central vision. These lesions may be detected ophthalmoscopically and biomicroscopically and…
Traumatic Retinopathy
Berlin’s Edema (Commotio Retinae) After a blunt contusion to the front of the eye, a patient may experience acute visual loss caused by Berlin’s edema (commotio retinae). In this condition…
Toxic Diseases Affecting the Pigment Epithelium and Retina
Medications or other substances that find their way into the eye may cause visual dysfunction by virtue of a toxic effect on the sensory retina, the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE),…
Diseases Causing Exudative and Hemorrhagic Detachment of the Choroid, Retina and Retinal Pigment Epithelium
Diseases primarily involving the choroid cause loss of retinal function in the macular region principally by three mechanisms: (1) reduction of blood flow within the choriocapillaris; (2) increased permeability of…
Imaging and Electrophysiological Studies
Pathophysiologic and Histopathologic Bases for Interpretation of Fluorescein Angiography The anatomy and physiology of the choroid and retina and their relationship to the normal fluorescein angiographic findings were presented in…
