Persistence of Cloquet's Canal in Normal Healthy Eyes

Am J Ophthalmol 142(5):3 (2006) PMID 17056372 PMCID 1939820

Purpose: Optic nerve head (ONH) structural imaging with state-of-the-art, high-speed, ultra-high-resolution optical coherence tomography (hsUHR-OCT). Design: Observational cohort study. Methods: ONH centered 3-dimensional (94,371,840 voxel measurements in a 6- x 6- x 1.4-mm tissue volume) hsUHR-OCT data were obtained in one eye from each of six males and nine females normal healthy volunteers (40 +/- 9 years of age). The presence of structures projecting anteriorly from the disk into the vitreous was noted. Results: Structures were noted in 14 of 15 (93%) examined eyes, emanating from the rim of the ONH at the nasal inferior sector, presenting as thin tissue meandering into the vitreous. Conclusions: Previous technologies provided limited visualization of ONH structures. The ability to scan the entire disk using 3-dimensional OCT (3D-OCT) in a high-density raster pattern reveals a high frequency of persistence of Cloquet's canal in the normal healthy eye.