Vorticose veins

Vorticose veins
Vorticose veins
	The veins of the choroid. (Venae vorticosae labeled - though difficult to see - at center.)
	Diagram of the blood vessels of the eye, as seen in a horizontal section. ("V", at center right, is the label for the vena vorticosa)
Details
Drains to	Superior ophthalmic vein, and inferior ophthalmic vein
Artery	Short posterior ciliary arteries[citation needed]
Identifiers
Latin	venae vorticosae
TA98	A12.3.06.106
TA2	4892
FMA	70880
	Anatomical terminology [edit on Wikidata]

The vorticose veins, referred to clinically as the vortex veins,^[1] are veins that drain the choroid of the eye. There are usually 4-5 vorticose veins in each eye, with at least one vorticose vein per each quadrant of the eye. Vorticose veins drain into the superior ophthalmic vein, and inferior ophthalmic vein.^[2]

Vorticose veins are an important ophthalmoscopic landmark.^[3]

Structure

Course and relations

Vorticose veins exit the eyeball 6 mm posterior to its equator.^[2]

Fate

Upper vortex veins empty into the superior ophthalmic vein, and lower vortex veins empty into the inferior ophthalmic vein.^[2]^[4]

Variation

The number of vorticose veins is known to vary from 4 to 8, with about 65% of the normal population having 4 or 5^[1] with at least one vein in each quadrant.^[2]

Clinical significance

Vorticose veins are an important ophthalmoscopic landmark.^[3] They can be visualised in a dilated pupil using an indirect ophthalmoscope.^[2]

Additional images

The blood-vessels of the eyeball (diagrammatic).

References

^ ^a ^b Kutoglu, Tunc; Yalcin, Bulent; Kocabiyik, Necdet; Ozan, Hasan (2005). "Vortex veins: Anatomic investigations on human eyes". Clinical Anatomy. 18 (4): 269–273. doi:10.1002/ca.20092. PMID 15832350. S2CID 42756249.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Remington, Lee Ann (2012). "Orbital Blood Supply". Clinical Anatomy and Physiology of the Visual System. Elsevier. pp. 202–217. doi:10.1016/b978-1-4377-1926-0.10011-6. ISBN 978-1-4377-1926-0.
^ ^a ^b Potter, J. W.; Vandervort, R. S.; Thallemer, J. M. (November 1984). "The clinical significance of the vortex veins". Journal of the American Optometric Association. 55 (11): 822–824. ISSN 0003-0244. PMID 6512144.
^ Standring, Susan (2020). Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice (42nd ed.). New York. p. 780. ISBN 978-0-7020-7707-4. OCLC 1201341621.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)