Ocular hypertension in primary glaucoma: a new hypothesis.

Some considerations of the vascular events occurring the uvea during the course of glaucoma are reported and a mathematical model is adopted to clarify the interdependence between intraocular pressure, rate of blood flow, blood pressure gradient, and the number of unobstructed capillary vessels in the uveal membrane. By means of this mathematical model the physiopathological vascular cause of the rise in intraocular pressure is confirmed (also independently of an obstacle to aqueous outflow), and the clinical implications in relation to visual sensory impairment are emphasized.