The Vitreous, the Retinal Interface in Ocular Health and Disease

The vitreous is a complex structure whose composition and appearance change with age. Anomalous adhesions between the posterior vitreous face and the retinal surface are the cause of numerous vitreoretinal complications, while the presence of an intact posterior hyaloid provides a scaffold for vascular growth and anteroposterior traction. This review summarizes what is known about the biochemistry of the vitreous, the process of posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) development, and the available clinical approaches to examining the vitreous and its interface. A pooled analysis of studies looking at the presence of a complete, partial or absent PVD in a number of macular and retinal diseases allows us to establish odds ratios for these various states. From this emerge both protective and disease-associated states in conditions such as proliferative diabetic retinopathy, macular edema, and age-related macular degeneration. With the emergence of pharmacological means to separate the posterior hyaloid, a better understanding of the possible role of the vitreous in tractional syndromes is required.