The following changes in the fundus of the eye may be observed in many cases of hypertension : (1) edema of the retina and the optic disk ; (2) cotton wool patches ; (3) hemorrhages ; (4) sharply defined white spots in the deeper layers of the retina; (5) glistening white spots and a star-shaped figure in the macular area, and (6) changes in the retinal vessels.
The pathologic basis of these changes may be described as follows : (1) for the edema, transudation of fluid from the capillaries into the substance of the retina; (2) for the cotton wool patches, accumulations of precipitated fibrin and serum; (3) for the hemorrhages, the presence of blood in the various layers of the retina, especially in the inner layers ; (4) for the sharply defined white spots, deposits of hyalin, mixed with lipids and with lipid-containing fat granule cells in the deeper layers of the retina, and for