Angioarchitecture of the human choroid
S. Yoneya and M. O. Tso
The angioarchitecture of the human choroid was studied by corrosion
vascular casts and scanning electron microscopy. The relationship of the
large choroidal arteries and veins, medium-sized arteries and veins,
precapillary arterioles and postcapillary venules, and the choriocapillaris
is described. At the posterior pole, a lobular arrangement of the
choriocapillaris is seen. At the equatorial area, the capillaries run a
more direct course, joining the precapillary arterioles to the capillary
venules in a spindle-shaped segment of the choroidal vasculature. At the
periphery, the choroidal arterioles and venules take a parallel course,
with the choriocapillaris joining the adjacent arterioles and venules at a
right angle and appearing in a ladder pattern. The regional variation of
the angioarchitecture of the human choroid provides supporting evidence for
the unique regional characteristics of choroidal blood flow.
