Anatomical Variations in the Ocular Vasculatue of Rabbits, Rats and Cats

Abstract

Anatomical studies of the vasculature of the eye have been reported in a variety of animals. However, published reports of comparative studies are few in number and there are fewer yet published reports on the long posterior ciliary artery (LPCA). The present study focuses on the organization and structure of the LPCA and its branches in three different species. Our study of the vasculature of the eye was performed utilizing methacrylate vascular casting and observation by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The study was designed to elucidate the anatomical formation of the long posterior ciliary artery and its branches and how this system differed in rabbits, cats and rats. Our findings showed that each species had a characteristic vascular pattern. In the rabbit eye, the LPCA supplied the anterior segment, the choroid, and was considered the only arterial supply of the uvea. In cat eyes, the choroid was supplied by many short posterior ciliary arteries (SPCAs) that arose from the ophthalmic artery.