This healthy 23YO female presented with incidental findings of bilateral prominent cilioretinal arteries.
Optos imaging shows a superior cilioretinal vessel in her right eye. There are two cilioretinal vessels in her left eye, which collectively seem to supply the entire central macular region.
Learning Points:
The inner two-thirds of the neurosensory retina is supplied by the central retinal artery, with the choroid supplying the RPE and photoreceptor layer.
Cilioretinal arteries, which arise from the posterior choroidal circulation, are present in up to 50% of individuals, and bilateral in about 25% (Schneider et al, Acta Ophthalmologica 2021;99:e310-e318).
Our patient is unique in that she has multiple vessels in her left eye (Leavitt et al, AJO 2011;152:820-823), which seem to supply the arterial needs for her entire macula. If she were unlucky enough to be the one in 50,000 people per year to develop a central retinal artery occlusion (Leavitt et al, AJO 2011;152:820-823), these vessels would most likely preserve macular function.
