- Hollenhorst plaque
A Hollenhorst plaque is a
cholesterol embolus that is seen in ablood vessel of theretina . It is usually seen when aphysician performsophthalmoscopy , during which a plaque will appear bright, refractile, and yellow. It is caused by an embolus lodged within the retinal vessel that originated from an atheromatous plaque in a more proximal (upstream) vessel, usually theinternal carotid artery . It is often an indication of a previous ischemic episode in the eye and is a sign of severeatherosclerosis . The most important step in management is to identify and treat the originating plaque to prevent further embolization.The phenomenon is named after the American ophthalmologist Dr Robert Hollenhorst (1913-2008) who first described their significance in 1961. [cite journal | author=Hollenhorst RW | title=Significance of bright plaques in theretinal arterioles | journal=JAMA 1961 | volume=178 | pages=23-29 | pmid=13908419]
References
External links
* [http://www.revoptom.com/HANDBOOK/sect5l.htm Handbook of ocular diseases.]
* [http://dro.hs.columbia.edu/hollenhorst.htm Columbia U.]
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