Observations on the lobular organization of the human choriocapillaris

Vascular casts (Batson mixture) of ocular angioarchitecture were prepared from ten human orbits removed at autopsy. The age of donor specimens ranged from seven months to 68 years. The time interval between death and injection of the orbits averaged seven hours with a range of five hours. The resulting vascular casts were examined using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We present photomicrographs of our vascular casts that demonstrate predictable variations of the human choriocapillaris angioarchitecture according to the region of the choriocapillaris under examination (i.e. posterior pole, equatorial, peripheral, peripapillary, or submacular areas). Our discussion represents an effort to help clarify some persistent controversies concerning the human choroidal angioarchitecture.