The angiographic pattern of the peripheral retinal vasculature.

Various diseases of the peripheral retinal vasculature, such as sickle cell retinopathy and Eales' disease, demonstrate vascular abnormalities. For comparative purposes, we documented angiographically the peripheral retinal vasculature in young, healthy subjects. Our findings showed the density of the capillary bed to be highest in the posterior pole and least concentrated toward the periphery. Peripheral capillaries are considerably larger than those found posteriorly and have fewer bifurcations. Our technique also detected the periarterial capillary-free zone and the zone without capillaries adjacent to the ora serrata. These aspects were consistent with findings of other investigators using in vitro techniques. By creating a standard of normalcy in vivo, the angiographic technique allows vascular abnormalities evident in diseases of the peripheral retinal vasculature to be more precisely defined and compared.