Orbital and ocular micro-vascular corrosion casting in man.

The methods of preparation and examination of complete orbital and ocular vascular casts, suitable for the study of anterior segment vasculature, are described from our experience of 20 casts. The use of low viscosity methylmethacrylate produced complete vascular filling with few artefacts when injected into isolated orbital preparations from human cadavers 36-48 hours post-mortem, despite suggestions by previous authors that injection should be within 12 hours. Using scanning electron microscopy, arteries and veins are clearly distinguishable by their endothelial nuclear impressions. The vascular anatomy of the anterior segment and of other sites including the optic nerve and choroid in man can therefore be elucidated with this method.