What do retinal vessels reveal about systemic disease? Retinal vessels and systemic disease--basic findings.

A number of systemic disorders are attended by distinct changes in blood vessels. The retinal vessels can easily be inspected with an ophthalmoscope. Some changes in retinal vessels allow us to draw direct conclusions about the status of blood vessels in the entire body. Major systemic diseases, such as diabetes or hypertension, can lead to typical changes in the retinal vessels with the resulting retinal pathology. Changes in the retinal vessels can also be an indicator for some specific ocular diseases. Early diagnosis and treatment of such diseases often prevent long-term damage or even blindness. Therefore, the evaluation of retinal arteries and veins should be a crucial part of an eye examination. In the following some basic principles of retinal findings and their correlation with systemic disease shall be discussed.