The Vitreous and Vitreoretinal Interface

Book excerpt: Ophthalmic researchers and clinicians alike increasingly are recognizing the importance of the vitreous body in the physiology, biochemistry, and pathology of the inner eye. The Vitreous and Vitreoretinal Interface, with contributions by vitreoretinal surgeons and laboratory eye researchers, presents the most up-to-date clinically relevant data. This book provides evidence of the vitreous body's significant role in preserving retinal homeostasis, as well as the close connection between vitreous traction and such conditions as retinal inflammation, retinal vascular occlusions, macular edema, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and giant retinal tears. The particular vitreal changes that occur in aphakia, myopia, retinitis pigmentosa, and idiopathic giant retinal breaks, as well as recent advances in open-sky vitreous surgery and in the search for useful vitreous substitutes are discussed.