Graphic Analysis of the Ocular Pulse in Carotid Occlusion

Abstract

The ocular pulse was recorded from the surface of rabbit eyes by the suction cup method. Graphic analytical techniques utilized in plethysmographic studies of peripheral pulses were applied to the ocular pulse, and the effects of acute and chronic unilateral common carotid occlusion and stenosis were noted. Acute common carotid ligation caused a marked reduction in the amplitude of the homolateral ocular pulse, disappearance of the dicrotic notch, delay in crest time, and a reduction in the steepness of the anacrotic and catacrotic slopes. Unilateral stenotic lesions had similar but less marked effects. The degree of reduction of pulse amplitude was related directly to the amount of carotid stenosis. The amplitude of the ocular pulse spontaneously returns to normal within five months of acute common carotid ligation.