Modeling of Pressure-Flow Relationship in the Eye

The blood supply to the human eye is complex. The posterior pole is nourished by 2 different vascular beds. The retinal circulation supplies the inner retina including the retinal ganglion cells. For this vascular bed the autoregulatory capacity is well documented and has been proven many years ago. The choroidal circulation supplies the outer retina including the photoreceptors. The autoregulatory capacity of the choroid has been debated for many years. Data from rabbit experiments have shown that the choroid also shows autoregulatory properties. In this manuscript we present modeling of the pressure-flow relationship and explain several approaches for studying the autoregulatory behaviour of the ocular vasculature, including static autoregulation, dynamic autoregulation and correlation of group data. A study investigating static autoregulation under conditions of normocapnia and hypercapnia as well as different experiments investigating the mechanisms underlying the response of the ocular vascular beds to changes in perfusion pressure are presented.