A Survey of the Pathogenesis of Retinal Venous Occlusion

Abstract

A review of the clinical and histopathologic features of occlusion of the central retinal vein and its main tributaries is indicated at the present time for two reasons: We have accumulated during the past decade considerable experience in the use, including prophylactic application, of a variety of anticoagulants. In the near future, a new method of prothrombin level determination * is going to be generally available, which appears to combine the accuracy of the two-stage method with the ease and rapidity of the one-stage method now in general use. Thus, further elimination of the hazards of anticoagulant therapy may stimulate new interest in its use for retinal venous occlusions. The first part of the following study deals with the histologic analysis of 21 eyes in which there was an occlusion or an imminent occlusion of the central retinal vein and with the demonstration, in each case, of the occlusion mechanism. Only