COMMON HISTOPATHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN AGED HUMAN ORBITAL ARTERIES

The physiology of the orbital arteries supplying the eye is currently under intensive investigation. However, while the anatomical distribut ion of these vessels in humans is well known, their normal histology a nd age-related or other pathologic alterations have hardly been studie d. We obtained at autopsy 10 orbits from persons aged greater-than-or- equal-to 74 years, and two orbits from a person aged 47 years. Specime ns were taken from 20 locations along the orbital arteries, from the i nternal carotid to the globe, and studied by light microscopy. We obse rved the following arteriosclerotic changes, in order of decreasing fr equency: intimal hyperplasia, medial atrophy, atherosclerotic fibrous plaques, and calcifications of the internal elastic lamina. As a rule, the intensity of the changes decreased from proximal to distal. This study shows that aged human orbital arteries are readily subject to de generative changes that may play an important role in ophthalmic vascu lar disease.