The Normal Eye - Vireous Humour
Serving a structural, supportive role for the posterior eyeball and in particular the retina, the vitreous humour consists of a hydrated gel matrix formed largely by a complex network of collagen fibrils and the water-retaining glycosaminoglycan, hyaluronan.
This gel has excellent shock absorption properties while still maintaining optical transparency and many disorders of the vitreous manifest themselves by the presence of opacities.
Vitreous abnormalities are often associated with age-related changes affecting the anatomy and physiochemistry of the gel or with secondary changes caused by trauma, inflammation or other ocular diseases. Structural changes to the vitreous such as liquefaction and posterior vitreal detachments are associated with ageing and often with the occurrence and onset of diabetic retinopathy.