Cavernous haemangioma of the orbit: A consideration of its origin and development

A review of 78 examples of cavernous haemangioma of the orbit studied histologically lends support to a hypothesis, originally propounded by Harris & Jakobiec (1979), that the essential cause of the continued growth of the lesions is by the formation of new capillaries in the fibrous interstitium of the lesion. As an extension of this concept it is postulated that the immediate stimulus to active capillary proliferation is tissue hypoxia commensurate with sluggish blood flow. It is furthermore speculated that the angiomatous process is superimposed on a previous vascular malformation but no evidence is adduced for regarding cavernous haemangiomas per se as hamartomatous developments.