Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 15, 2025
Adult Mouse Venous Hypertension Model: Common Carotid Artery to External Jugular Vein Anastomosis.
Published on: January 27, 2015
Vortex Vein Anastomosis at the Watershed in Pachychoroid Spectrum Diseases
Hidetaka Matsumoto1, Junki Hoshino1, Ryo Mukai1
1Department of Ophthalmology, Gunma University, School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan.
Purpose:
To evaluate the vascular changes in vortex veins at the posterior pole in pachychoroid spectrum diseases, including central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC), pachychoroid neovasculopathy without polypoidal lesions (PNV), and pachychoroid neovasculopathy with polypoidal lesions (polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy [PCV]).
Design:
Retrospective case-control study.
Participants:
Ninety-two eyes of 89 patients with CSC, 61 eyes of 59 patients with PNV, 63 eyes of 61 patients with PCV, and 25 healthy control eyes of 25 age- and gender-matched participants for each pachychoroid spectrum disease.
Methods:
Clinical records of patients with pachychoroid spectrum diseases and healthy controls were reviewed. Multimodal images of each group were analyzed. Swept-source OCT was performed to obtain B-mode and en face images in patients with pachychoroid spectrum diseases and healthy controls. All patients underwent fluorescein angiography, indocyanine green angiography, and OCT.
Main Outcome Measures:
Vortex vein anastomosis at the watershed, determined using en face OCT, and central choroidal thickness (CCT), measured using B-mode OCT, were examined in patients and healthy controls. Patient ages also were taken into consideration.
Results:
Patients with CSC were the youngest, followed by patients with PNV, and then those with PCV (P < 0.01, CSC vs. PNV and PNV vs. PCV), whereas CSC eyes showed the highest CCT values, followed by the PNV and then the PCV eyes (P < 0.01, CSC vs. PNV; P < 0.05, PNV vs. PCV). Central choroidal thickness was significantly greater in pachychoroid spectrum diseases than in healthy controls. No significant CCT differences were found among healthy controls. Anastomosis between superior and inferior vortex veins was observed in more than 90% of eyes with pachychoroid spectrum diseases, making this finding significantly more frequent than in healthy controls (P < 0.01, each pachychoroid spectrum disease vs. control). Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy showed a significantly higher rate of anastomosis than CSC (P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
Anastomosis between superior and inferior vortex veins was found to be a common feature in pachychoroid spectrum diseases. Longstanding vortex vein congestion may lead to the development of pachychoroid spectrum diseases. Choroidal congestion may be compensated for by new drainage routes formed via vortex vein anastomosis.
Related Concept Videos
01:24Esophageal Varices-I: Introduction
01:19Anastomoses
Anastomoses can be formed at arterial, venous, and lymphatic vessels.
Arterial Anastomosis: These occur between arteries. They...
01:28Esophageal Varices-II: Clinical Features and Management
In the initial assessment, a thorough review of the patient's medical history is vital to identify risk factors such as liver disease, alcohol...
01:19Veins of Thorax
The azygos vein, positioned just right of the midline and anterior to the vertebral column, begins at the junction of the right ascending lumbar and subcostal veins, terminating in the superior vena cava. This vein drains blood from the right side of the thoracic wall, thoracic viscera, and posterior abdominal wall.
The...
01:11Overview of Systemic Veins
The coronary sinus, the heart's principal vein, resides in the coronary sulcus on the heart's posterior aspect. This broad venous channel receives nearly all venous blood from the myocardium, the heart muscle. It is fed by three primary veins: the great cardiac vein, the...
01:25Hemodialysis I: Introduction