Bergmeister's papilla arises from the centre of 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 ...

, consists of a small tuft of fibrous tissue and represents a remnant of the fetal hyaloid artery. Bergmeisters papilla x 6

The hyaloid artery provides nutrition 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'') ...

during development in the fetus, and runs forward to the lens from the optic disc. The optic disc is covered by a plaque of fibrous cells called the central supporting tissue meniscus of Kuhnt. This plaque forms a fibrous sheath around the hyaloid artery where it leaves the optic disc. At birth the hyaloid artery regresses, and is normally completely regressed by the time of eyelid opening. Bergmeister's papilla is a remnant of the hyaloid artery fibrous sheath and is frequently observed as an incidental clinical finding.Samuelson DA (2007). Veterinary Ophthalmology 4th ed. Ames, Iowa: Blackwell Publishing. p132 Bergmeister's papilla is named after Austrian ophthalmologist O. Bergmeister (1845–1918).

References

Human eye anatomy {{eye-stub