Vascularization of the Optic Pathway

TEis problem has been of only moderate interest to research workers, and publications and monographs on the subject have been sporadic, though a few well-known names must be cited here (Leber, 1865a, b, 1872, 1903; Magitot, 1908, 1947; Behr, 1935; Wolff, 1939, 1940, 1948). The findings being very diverse, it seemed appropriate to try to find experimentally the normal vascular anatomy of the optic pathway, especially because alterations in the vessels play a preponderant role in the visual system. The finer details of the circulation are practically unknown, less and less data being available as we approach the capillary stage, The capillaries are definitely nutritive, being responsible for metabolism in normal physiological conditions, and even in certain pathological processes. Embryology and comparative anatomy have been hitherto neglected in the explanation of the experimental results, but the chronology of the embryological processes is very important in providing objective proofs of anatomical conceptions.