A New Technique for the Anatomical Study of the Choroidal Blood Vessels

A new technique for the anatomical study of the choroidal blood vessels is described. The main advantage of this technique conducted on 24 human eyes is that it allows the observation of the whole length of any ciliary vessel from its origin through the sclera and within the choroid up to its termination in the choriocapillaris. This technique has provided additional data on the systematization of the choroidal vascular network: (1) the posterior ciliary arteries (PCA) and their branches are arranged into two independent groups; paraoptic and distal PCA; (2) there is no specific macular short PCA; (3) no anastomoses between the short PCA are observed; (4) different interpretations of the lobular systematization can be made - the end arterioles and venules can be interpreted either as peripheral or central depending upon the topography given to the lobules.