Vorticose veins

Vorticose veins
The veins of the choroid. (Venae vorticosae labeled - though difficult to see - at center.)
Diagram of the blood vessels of the eye, as seen in a horizontal section. ("V", at center right, is the label for the vena vorticosa)
Details
Drains to	Superior ophthalmic vein, and inferior ophthalmic vein
Artery	Short posterior ciliary arteries [ citation needed ]
Identifiers
Latin	venae vorticosae
TA98	A12.3.06.106
TA2	4892
FMA	70880
Anatomical terminology [ edit on Wikidata]

The vorticose veins, commonly known as the vortex veins, are veins that drain the choroid of the eye. Usually, there are four vorticose veins in each eye, but can vary up to eight in number. ^{[1] [2]} There is at least one vorticose vein per each quadrant of the eye, located at the lateral and medial sides of the superior and inferior rectus muscles. Vorticose veins drain into the superior ophthalmic vein, and inferior ophthalmic vein. ^[3]

Vorticose veins are an important opthalmoscopic landmark. ^[4]

Structure

Course and relations

Vorticose veins exit the eyeball 6 mm posterior to its equator. ^[3] In typical anatomy, both upper vorticose veins empty into the superior ophthalmic vein, and both lower vorticose veins drain into the inferior ophthalmic vein. ^{[3] [5]}

Variation

The number of vorticose veins is known to vary from four to eight, with about 65% of the normal population having four with at least one vein in each quadrant. ^{[3] [1]}

Clinical significance

Vorticose veins are an important ophthalmoscopic landmark. ^[4] They can be visualised in a dilated pupil using an indirect ophthalmoscope. ^[3]

Additional images

• 
  The blood-vessels of the eyeball (diagrammatic).

References

1. Verma, A; Bacci, T; Sarraf, D; Freund, KB; Sadda, SR (2021). "Vortex Vein Imaging: What Can It Tell Us?". Clinical Ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.). 15: 3321–3331. doi: 10.2147/OPTH.S324245 . PMC   8364369 . PMID   34408390.
2. Kutoglu, Tunc; Yalcin, Bulent; Kocabiyik, Necdet; Ozan, Hasan (2005). "Vortex veins: Anatomic investigations on human eyes". Clinical Anatomy. 18 (4): 269–273. doi:10.1002/ca.20092. PMID   15832350. S2CID   42756249.
3. Remington, Lee Ann (2012). "Orbital Blood Supply". Clinical Anatomy and Physiology of the Visual System. Elsevier. pp. 202–217. doi:10.1016/b978-1-4377-1926-0.10011-6. ISBN   978-1-4377-1926-0.
4. Potter, J. W.; Vandervort, R. S.; Thallemer, J. M. (November 1984). "The clinical significance of the vortex veins". Journal of the American Optometric Association. 55 (11): 822–824. ISSN   0003-0244. PMID   6512144.
5. Standring, Susan (2020). Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice (42nd ed.). New York. p. 780. ISBN   978-0-7020-7707-4. OCLC   1201341621.