Sattler's layer, named after Hubert Sattler, an Austrian ophthalmologist, is one of five (or six) layers of medium-diameter

blood vessel The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away ...

s of the

choroid The choroid, also known as the choroidea or choroid coat, is a part of the uvea, the vascular layer of the eye, and contains connective tissues, and lies between the retina and the sclera. The human choroid is thickest at the far extreme rear ...

, and a layer of the eye. It is situated between the

Bruch's membrane Bruch's membrane is the innermost layer of the choroid of the eye. It is also called the ''vitreous lamina'' or ''Membrane vitriae'', because of its glassy microscopic appearance. It is 2–4 μm thick. Layers Bruch's membrane consists of five l ...

, choriocapillaris below, and the Haller's layer and suprachoroidea above, respectively. The origin seems to be related to a continuous differentiation throughout the growth of the tissue and even further differentiation during adulthood.

Measurement methods and clinical impact

After excision the choroid collapses partially, histologic preparations also alter the local pressure and fluid content of different sections in the tissue, thus requiring preparations with rubber solution or others that can conserve the vascular status of living tissue. Novel diagnostic methods, especially

optical coherence tomography Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique that uses low-coherence light to capture micrometer-resolution, two- and three-dimensional images from within optical scattering media (e.g., biological tissue). It is used for medical ...

have widened the understanding of the real-time, in vivo status of the different layers. Several papers have shown the relationship between the thickness of the

al, Sattler's and Haller's layer between healthy individuals and in people with

age-related macular degeneration Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no symptoms. Over time, however, som ...

(AMD). The studies showed significant reduction of layer thickness in relation to the progression of AMD, which may be important in the understanding of choriopathy in the pathophysiology of AMD. However, also strong variations even throughout the diurnal cycle, as well as the influence of optical stimuli during eye-growth, indicate that the complex function of this tissue is not entirely understood and might be one of the reasons for the frequently found separation in vascular size between Haller's and Sattler's layer.

Notes

References

Human eye anatomy {{Eye-stub