Changing Carotid Bruit in Transient Cerebral Ischemic Attacks

Abstract

OF THE VARIETIES of emboli that may be observed in the retina, two are related to occlusive cerebrovascular disease. These two types of emboli are the bright plaques of Hollenhorst,¹which are presumably cholesterol crystals, and the platelet plugs, which, according to McBrien and co-workers,²consist of a conglutination of platelets. The bright plaques are small (about the size of an arteriole diameter) and flat and are frequently observed to be impinged at a bifurcation of a retinal arteriole. Pressure on the globe may turn them over. Although they may move from one bifurcation to the next bifurcation between examinations, it is not common for them to move during the course of observation at one sitting. They may be seen in the retina in otherwise clinically normal persons, or they may be found in patients who have clinical evidence of atherosclerosis of the ipsilateral