Website Development Hollenhorst Plaque Hollenhorst plaques are also known as retinal emboli . On fundus examination, they appear as a bright, glistening, whitish-yellow plaque. Hollenhorst plaques occur in patients who have concurrent hypertension, diabetes, carotid artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, and elevated cholesterol levels.
Atherosclerosis is characterized by reduced elasticity of vessels and arteries.
Cholesterol and calcium plaque formations begin to build-up along the walls of vessels and arteries, forming an atheroma. Turbulent blood flow over the atheroma allows small particles of plaque to break off and travel through the bloodstream. Eventually, the plaque embolus enters a vessel whose caliber is too small to allow it to flow any further. As the emboli lodge themselves into these smaller vessels, they may significantly impair adequate blood flow to surrounding tissue. The carotid arteries in the neck supply the main bloodflow to the orbit and retinal tissues.