Vitreous cortex remnants at the fovea after spontaneous vitreous detachment.

We performed a scanning electron microscopic observation of the posterior retinal surface of 59 autopsy eyes with spontaneous vitreous detachment. In 26 eyes (44%), there were remnants of the posterior vitreous membrane in the foveal area. These vitreous cortex remnants formed three basic patterns. They appeared either as disc-shaped collagenous membranes covering the fovea, as rings along the foveal margin, or forming a structure that resembles a cyst. Each of these patterns seemed to have a counterpart to various known clinical situations. These findings imply that remnants of the vitreous cortex membrane frequently remain attached to the fovea after apparent complete posterior vitreous detachment. The observed features would provide morphological basis for the interpretation of several clinical conditions that take place along the vitreoretinal interface at the fovea.