Unit 10: Systemic Disease

Signs of hypertensive retinopathy:

• Focal arteriolar narrowing
• Venous nipping at arteriovenous crossings
• Copper and silver wiring
• Cotton wool spots from small areas of retinal ischemia and swelling
• Lipid (hard) exudates are yellow white intraretinal lipid collections from vascular leakage. At the macula they may resemble a star
• Flame haemorrhages in the retinal nerve fibre layer
• Macular oedema
• Macro aneurysms seen as well defined red dots (sometimes with lipid exudates)
• Optic disc swelling caused by local ischemia