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Article
May 1979

The Histology of Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Bundles and Bundle Defects

Author Affiliations

From the William L. McKnight Vision Research Center, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami. Dr Radius is now with the Department of Ophthalmology, The Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.; Dr Anderson is a William and Mary Greve International Research Scholar, as awarded by Research to Prevent Blindness Inc.

Arch Ophthalmol. 1979;97(5):948-950. doi:10.1001/archopht.1979.01020010506027
Abstract

• The fiber bundle striations recognized clinically in normal monkey eyes appear to be bundles of axons compartmentalized within glial tunnels formed by Müller's-cell processes, when viewed histologically. The dark boundaries that separate individual bundles are the broadened foot endings of these cells near the inner surface of the retina. Within one week after focal retinal photocoagulation, characteristic fundus changes could be seen in experimental eyes. In histologic sections of the involved retina, there was marked cystic degeneration of the retinal nerve fiber layer. Within one month, atrophy of distal axon segments was complete. With the drop-out of damaged axons and thinning of individual fiber bundles, retinal striations became less prominent. The resulting fundus picture in these experimental eyes is similar to fiber bundle defects that can be seen clinically in various neuro-ophthalmic disorders.

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