Brit. Y'. Ophthal. (I976) 6o, 454 Acute vitreous haemorrhage: a clinical report

Acute vitreous haemorrhage presents to the patient as a sudden onset of black spots, followed by rapid clouding of vision as the blood disperses through the media. The ophthalmoscopic picture varies from a loss of retinal detail to a loss of fundus reflex, depending on the quantity of blood released. Biomicroscopy of the vitreous is revealing because blood cells collect on the surface of the vitreous membranes and membranelles and provide a kind of in vivo staining of vitreous structures. Vitreous membranes appear to be impermeable to red blood cells. When detachment of the posterior hyaloid provokes a retinal haemorrhage the post-hyaloid space fills with blood. Red blood cells coat the external surface of the hyaloid but the interna