The material in this book was presented in preliminary form by 42 contributors who are or were associated with the Wilmer Retinal Vascular Center, Baltimore, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of this specialty clinic in 1980. Tribute was paid to Arnall Patz, who pioneered many of the studies of retinal vascular disease, including the etiologic importance of oxygen in the production of retrolental fibroplasia in premature infants. This group was active in the clinical Diabetic Retinopathy Study supported by the National Eye Institute to evaluate the effects of photocoagulation, and in the present studies on early treatment of diabetic retinopathy, and the retinal angiogenesis related especially to senile macular degeneration and ocular histoplasmosis.
In a summary chapter, Patz presents the evidence supporting the current belief that closure of retinal vessels produces ischemia with liberation of an angiogenic factor. Resulting neovascularization produces edema or hemorrhage, often with secondary glial proliferation. Photocoagulation