Arteriovenous Crossing Patterns in the Normal Retina.

Shin, Seung Wan; Ohn, Young Hoon; Shin, Hanho

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Ophthalmological Society 1995;36(4):664-669.
Published online April 1, 1995.

Arteriovenous Crossing Patterns in the Normal Retina.

Seung Wan Shin, Young Hoon Ohn, Hanho Shin

Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Seoul, Korea.

정상안에서 망막의 동정맥 교차에 관한 연구

신승완(Seung Wan Shin),온영훈(Young Hoon Ohn),신환호(Han Ho Shin)

Abstract

The retinal blood bessels exit the optic disc and branch in a complex pattern to serve the metabolic need of the inner retina. As the vessels traverse the retina, the arteries and veins frequently cross one another. Recently, there has been renewed iterest in the orientation of the crossing retinal vessels at arteriovenous intersections, particularly as it relates to the risk of branch retinal vein occlusion. The authors studied standard fundus photographs of 30 subjects(60 eyes) who don't habve any retinal and systemic disorders. Arteriovenous crossings were analized for fundus location and relative orientation of the crossing vessels(vein-posterior or vein-anterior). In the superotemporal quadrant, A-V crossings were a greater number, distributed closer to the optic disc than the inferotemporal quadrant. Also a greater proportion of crossings was vein-posterior than the inferotemporal quadrant. These findings may explain the predilection for branch retinal vein occlusions to occur frequency in the superotemporal quadrant.

Key Words: Arteriovenous crossing;Vein-posterior;Vein-anterior;Superotemporal quadrant;Inferotemporal quadrant