Central Retinal and Internal Carotid Arterial Occlusions

Abstract

Duke-Elder¹stresses the fact that with the Bailliart ophthalmodynamometer one is measuring the pressure in the ophthalmic artery and not the central retinal artery. This point is not widely appreciated as evidenced by the frequency with which one finds ophthalmodynamometric values recorded in the literature as "retinal artery pressures." That this phenomenon is clinically significant appears corroborated by the observations here reported. In several instances following classical central retinal artery occlusions, equal ophthalmodynamometric values have been noted in both eyes. An identical ophthalmoscopic picture may at times be seen after thrombosis of the internal carotid artery, yet in these cases, there is a definite lowering of ophthalmic artery pressure on the affected side.^2,3It thus appears that with the ophthalmodynamometer one can differentiate cases with extreme optic atrophy and arteriolar attenuation following carotid occlusion from those with an identical fundus appearance due to occlusion of the central retinal