Elastic properties of intraocular blood vessels.

Abstract

The pressure‐flow relationship of the intraocular vascular bed was determined by direct perfusion of the ophthalmic artery in enucleated cat eyes. From the data obtained, pressure‐resistance, pressure‐radius, and tensionradius diagrams were constructed for the resistance vessels of the intraocular vascular bed. The results indicated that these vessels do not obey Hooke's law in that Young's modulus of elasticity increases as the radius of the vessel is increased. The shape of the elastic diagram is not affected by alterations in intraocular pressure or vasomotor tone. The addition of levarterenol bitartrate to the perfusate increases critical closing pressure and resistance but decreases circumferential tension in the vessel wall by causing a marked reduction in the radius of the vessel.