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In three collie dogs with a congenital pit of the optic nerve and associated serous macular detachment, no connection between the subarachnoid space and the pit or subretinal fluid could be demonstrated with subarachnoid injection of India ink or with serial sections of the eyes. A direct communication between the vitreous, the pit, and the subretinal space could be demonstrated, however, in all three dogs. Flow of India ink particles from the vitreous to the pit and into the subretinal space was demonstrated. Indirect evidence to support the above mechanism in humans includes the biomicroscopic observation of channels coursing from the pit toward the subretinal space and the presence of posterior vitreous detachment or liquefaction of the vitreous in patients with optic pits and macular detachment.

The clinical and fluorescein angiographic features of seven patients with unilateral, large retinal vessels supplying or draining the macular region, both inferior and superior to the horizontal raphe, are described. All patients had good vision, although two patients also had a concomitant foveolar cyst in the involved eye. Four of the seven eyes had small perifoveolar arteriovenous communications, while three eyes did not. Four eyes also showed abnormal areas of retinal capillary nonperfusion. In addition, delayed drainage of dye from the enlarged vessels was a commonly encountered feature. It is suggested that these congenital anomalies be referred to as retinal macrovessels.

The fundus photographs of 308 patients with presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome (POHS) were examined. Bilateral macular involvement was found in 20% of the cases. The incidence of maculopathy, peripapillary lesions, and peripheral "punched-out" lesions in one fundus and only peeipapillary changes in the fellow eye was 12%. The incidence of these features in one fundus and clinically inactive, atrophic scars in the posterior pole of the fellow eye was 23%. Twenty-five patients with atrophic lesions in the macular area of the fellow eye were followed for an average of 24 months. Six patients (24%) demonstrated activation of eight previously documented atrophic lesions resulting in macular involvement. One patient also demonstrated activation from a pre-existing juxtapapillary lesion. None of the remaining 18 patients exhibited any evidence of serous or hemorrhagic retinal sequelae in the fellow eye.

Cavernous hemangioma of the retina is an unusual vascular hamartoma whose coexistence with vascular anomalies of the skin and central nervous system has been recognized recently. A 39-year-old woman, who had an acute palsy of the right third cranial nerve, had a history of seizures, cutaneous vascular anomalies, and a cavernous hemangioma of the retina of the right eye. One of her daughters demonstrated bilateral retinal cavernous hemangiomas, and another daughter, who developed seizures when febrile, displayed cutaneous vascular anomalies. A four-generation pedigree showed a number of cutaneous vascular anomalies, seizures, and stroke-related deaths. The pedigree suggests further support for considering this disorder an authentic oculoneurocutaneous triad.