Retinal vascular patterns in the macula and the perimacular area in premature and full-term infants.
27 eyes of 20 premature and full-term infants were subjected to trypsin digestion, and a study was made of the extension of the temporal retinal vessels and of the formation of the radial peripapillary capillaries (RPCs) and the capillary-free zone in the macula. The advancing borders of the temporal retinal vessels exhibited a V-shaped appearance in cases of 23-29 weeks in gestational age. The RPCs were observed in cases after the 27th week of gestation. The capillary-free zone in the macula was observed in cases after the 25th week of gestation. There were two eyes having extremely small and incomplete capillary-free zones: in one eye a vascular network was present in the region corresponding to the center of the macula. It was thought that the vascular network in the temporal horizontal aspect of the macula is formed by anastomosis of the superior and inferior temporal vessels, and that the capillary-free zone in the macula develops secondarily as the result of retraction of the capillaries.
D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008266:Macula Lutea / Q000098:blood supply*; D012171:Retinal Vessels / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development*