Retrograde cerebral perfusion in human brains.

Retrograde cerebral perfusion via the superior vena cava during deep hypothermic circulatory arrest has evolved as a means of cerebral protection in aortic-arch surgery. We showed, with use of fluorescein retinal angiography, that during retrograde cerebral perfusion, fluorescein injected into the superior vena cava entered the retinal venules, flowed to the capillaries, and subsequently, to the retinal arterioles. Since the retina is embryologically part of the brain, we conclude that this procedure does allow blood to perfuse in a retrograde way through the human brain.