The chick chorioallantoic membrane as a model tissue for surgical retinal research and simulation.

PURPOSE We describe the use of chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) as a model system for the study of the precision and safety of vitreoretinal microsurgical instruments and techniques. METHODS The CAM was prepared for experimentation with and without its inner shell membrane (ISM) attached for in vivo and in vitro experiments that simulated medical and surgical interventions on the retina. RESULTS The CAM's ease of use, low cost, and anatomic structure make it a convenient model for surgical retinal and retinal vascular modeling. CONCLUSION While CAM has been used extensively in the past for ocular angiogenesis studies, we describe the tissue as a useful tool for a variety of other applications, including (1) testing of novel surgical tools and techniques for cutting and coagulating retina and its vasculature, (2) testing vessel cannulation and injection techniques, (3) angiographic studies, and (4) endoscopic surgery.