Vascular casts of experimental retinal neovascularization.

Autotransplantation of skin fibroblasts into the vitreous cavity of the rabbit eye resulted in the formation of fibrous strands that rapidly vascularized. To study this neovascularization, we injected methylmethacrylate monomer via the common carotid artery and made plastic casts between three days and three months after transplantation. Budding of new vessels into the fibrous tissue from retinal veins was observed as soon as three days after transplantation. The new vessels grew rapidly into the fibrous tissue matrix and an increasing number of anastomoses developed during the observation period. Neovascular fans developed at the proximal end of the proliferating fibrous tissue two to four weeks after injection. As the strands contracted, changes in blood flow resulted in aneurysmal dilatations and glomerular formations.