[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [Anatomy](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/) › [Head and neck](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/region/head-and-neck/) › Vitreous [Sense organs](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/system/sense-organs/) · [Head and neck](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/region/head-and-neck/) # Vitreous The vitreous is the clear gel filling the back of the eye; it keeps the eye's shape, and clumps in it cast the shadows called floaters. Official name: Vitreous body [See in 3D →](https://durgical.app/?from=durgipedia&lang=en#region=head_neck&select=vitreous_body&side=r) Opens in the Durgical app, no sign-up needed. ## What it is The clear gel filling the back of the eye. ## What it does Keeps the eye's shape; clumps in it cast the shadows called floaters. ## Key points - Mostly water held in a framework of collagen and hyaluronic acid; attached most firmly at the vitreous base over the ora serrata, and less so at the optic disc, the macula and along vessels - Posterior vitreous detachment is common with age; if it tears the retina, a retinal detachment can follow, so new flashes and floaters are checked with a dilated retinal exam - Vitreous haemorrhage: proliferative diabetic retinopathy, a retinal tear or trauma; Terson syndrome is bleeding into the eye with a subarachnoid haemorrhage - It does not regenerate: after vitrectomy the space fills with aqueous, gas or silicone oil ## Key facts **Where** Fills the space between the lens and the retina (~80% of the eye) **Blood supply** Avascular **Function** Keeps the eye's shape; transparent path for light ## Relations **In front** Back of the [lens](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/lens/), which sits in its hyaloid fossa, and the [zonular fibres](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/ciliary-zonule/) **Behind** [Optic disc](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/optic-disc/) and [macula](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/macula/), where the posterior hyaloid face adheres **Superficial** [Retina](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/retina/), against the internal limiting membrane, and the pars plana of the [ciliary body](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/ciliary-body/) at its base **Contents** Cloquet canal, the path of the former hyaloid artery from disc to lens, and scattered cells (hyalocytes) ## How to find it Seen at the slit lamp just behind the lens (anterior vitreous) and with the ophthalmoscope as a clear space; floaters and pigment drift in it as the eye moves. ## Examination - Slit lamp of the anterior vitreous: pigment cells (tobacco dust, Shafer sign) after a posterior vitreous detachment strongly suggest a retinal tear - Fundoscopy: a floating ring in front of the disc (Weiss ring) marks a posterior vitreous detachment ## On imaging B-scan ultrasound shows the detached posterior hyaloid, and any retinal detachment, when blood blocks the view; OCT shows vitreomacular traction. ## Common problems - Floaters: specks and cobwebs from clumping gel, common with age. - Posterior vitreous detachment: the gel peels off the retina; a sudden burst of floaters needs a retina check. - Vitreous haemorrhage, often from diabetic vessels. ## How it is diagnosed Dilated eye exam; ultrasound when blood blocks the view. ## Treatment - Usually no treatment for floaters. - Vitrectomy (removing the gel) for persistent bleeding or retinal problems. ## Clinical notes - Injections into the vitreous (anti-VEGF drugs, steroids, antibiotics) and vitrectomy instruments enter through the pars plana - Endophthalmitis: infection of the vitreous after surgery or injury; a sample is taken from it for culture - Asteroid hyalosis: many small white calcium-lipid particles, usually harmless - Persistent fetal vasculature (persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous) causes leukocoria and a small eye in infants ## Anatomical variants - Remnants of the fetal hyaloid artery are common and harmless: a small dot on the back of the lens capsule (Mittendorf dot) or a tuft of glial tissue on the disc (Bergmeister papilla) ## Development The primary vitreous, which holds the hyaloid vessels, is replaced by the avascular secondary vitreous; the tertiary vitreous forms the zonular fibres. ## Related conditions - [Retinal detachment](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/retinal-detachment/) - [Ocular toxoplasmosis (retinochoroiditis)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/ocular-toxoplasmosis/) - [Endophthalmitis](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/endophthalmitis/) ## Test yourself Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it. ## Why are new flashes and floaters checked with a dilated retinal exam? They may mean a posterior vitreous detachment that has torn the retina, which can lead to retinal detachment. ## Where is the vitreous body attached most firmly? At the vitreous base over the ora serrata; less so at the optic disc, the macula and along vessels. ## What does «tobacco dust» (Shafer sign) in the anterior vitreous suggest? A retinal tear, after a posterior vitreous detachment. ## What is Terson syndrome? Bleeding into the eye (vitreous haemorrhage) with a subarachnoid haemorrhage. [Add to my cards (4)](https://durgical.app/estudiar/?add=/en/anatomy/vitreous-body/) Educational information, not medical advice. For any symptom, see a health professional. ## Its names **Official Latin (TA2)** corpus vitreum TA2 6809 **Official Spanish (DeCS)** Cuerpo Vítreo DeCS D014822 **English (TA2)** Vitreous body **Also called** vitreous humour ## Related - [Lens](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/lens/) - [Retina](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/retina/) Sources: Terminologia Anatomica (TA2); [DeCS](https://decs.bvsalud.org/es/ths/resource/?id=15224&filter=ths_termall&q=Vitreous%20Body); [Posterior Vitreous Detachment](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK563273/); [Anatomy, Head and Neck, Eye](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482428/). ## **Spotted a mistake?** We are always improving for the community. Tell us what is wrong and our team will review it. Report a mistake Representative model, for educational purposes only. --- Source: https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/vitreous-body/ License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/vitreous-body/