The cisternal anatomy of the vitreous body

Abstract

The vitreous body of a fresh human eye removed post-mortem was suspended in water after stripping off the corneo-scleral coat, the choroid and the retina. Coloured ink was injected into the vitreous specimen from different points. Individual spaces (cisterns), transitions between cisterns and specialized structures like the bursa premacularis and the canal of Cloquet became visible when partial filling had taken place. SEM-examination of the individual cisternal walls of the bursa premacularis area showed networks of different density and texture and a considerable variation in the length of the individual fibres, some of which extended from the ciliary body (Retzius bundles) to the rim of the Bursa premacularis.