The hyaloid artery is a branch of the

ophthalmic artery The ophthalmic artery (OA) is an artery of the head. It is the first branch of the internal carotid artery distal to the cavernous sinus. Branches of the ophthalmic artery supply all the structures in the orbit around the eye, as well as some ...

, which is itself a branch of the

internal carotid artery The internal carotid artery is an artery in the neck which supplies the anterior cerebral artery, anterior and middle cerebral artery, middle cerebral circulation. In human anatomy, the internal and external carotid artery, external carotid ari ...

. It is contained within the optic stalk of the

eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

and extends from the

optic disc The optic disc or optic nerve head is the point of exit for ganglion cell axons leaving the eye. Because there are no rods or cones overlying the optic disc, it corresponds to a small blind spot in each eye. The ganglion cell axons form t ...

through the vitreous humor to the

lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...

. Usually fully regressed before

birth Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...

, its purpose is to supply nutrients to the developing lens in the growing

fetus A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic development, embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Pren ...

. During the tenth week of development in humans (time varies depending on species), the lens grows independent of a blood supply and the hyaloid artery usually regresses. Its proximal portion remains as the central artery of the

retina The retina (; or retinas) is the innermost, photosensitivity, light-sensitive layer of tissue (biology), tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some Mollusca, molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focus (optics), focused two-dimensional ...

. Regression of the hyaloid artery leaves a clear central zone through the vitreous humor, called the hyaloid canal or Cloquet's canal. Cloquet's canal is named after the French physician

Jules Germain Cloquet Jules Germain Cloquet (18 December 1790 – 23 February 1883) was a French physician and surgeon who was born and practiced medicine in Paris. His older brother, Hippolyte Cloquet (1787-1840) and his younger nephew Ernest Cloquet (1818-1855) ...

(1790–1883) who first described it. Occasionally the artery may not fully regress, resulting in the condition ''persistent hyaloid artery''. More commonly, small remnants of the artery may remain. Free remnants can sometimes be seen as "

floater Floaters or eye floaters are sometimes visible deposits (e.g., the shadows of tiny structures of protein or other cell debris projected onto the retina) within the eye's vitreous humour ("the vitreous"), which is normally transparent, or between ...

s". An anterior remnant of the hyaloid artery can be seen in some people as ''Mittendorf's dot'', a small pinpoint-like scar on the posterior surface of the lens.Lee Ann Remington, Clinical Anatomy of the Visual System, 2005 p. 124 A posterior remnant may be seen where the artery left the optic disc, and is known as Bergmeister's papilla.

Notes

External links

The Vitreous Humor
at TedMontgomery.com

at Straight Dope Arteries {{circulatory-stub

See also

Notes

External links