Abstract

The nerve fiber layer (NFL), consisting of the axons of ganglion cells sweeping across the inner surface of the retina to the disc, transmits all the visual information from the eye to the brain. The normal, topographically regular pattern of nerve fibers is illustrated in Figure 1. Ophthalmoscopically, the nerve fiber layer is recognized as a pattern of subtle striations emanating from the disc a short distance; the striations are evidently bundles of axons contained within glial tunnels formed by Muller's cell processes⁶. Glaucoma and other optic neuropathies damage the nerve fibers and cause defects within the pattern. The bundles are fairly easy to see near the disc, and the circumpapillary nerve fibers have proved useful to image, because fiber damage and defects in the striation pattern sometimes precede detectable visual field defects. It has previously proved impossible, however, to image non-invasively the details of the perifoveally originating papillomacular bundles. Because the visual information from the perifoveal area is crucial to visual performance and because some neuropathies affect central vision preferentially (e.g., Leber's optic neuropathy), it may be useful to visualize the papillomacular bundle near the fovea, where a focal pattern of loss might be noticeable and well-correlated to focal visual deficits.

© 1995 Optical Society of America