Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) occurs when occlusion of the central retinal artery, a branch of the ophthalmic artery, results in infarction of the inner retina with subsequent, typically severe, vision loss. The picture above exhibits a CRAO with sparing of the foveal retina due to the presence of a cilioretinal artery.

It is an obstruction of retinal blood flow that may be due to an embolus causing occlusion or thrombus formation, vasculitis causing retinal vasculature inflammation, traumatic vessel wall damage, or spasm. The lack of oxygen delivery to the retina during the blockage often results in severe vision loss in the area of ischemic retina.

Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO). A, Histologically, necrosis occurs in the inner retina (asterisk) corresponding to the retinal whitening observed on ophthalmoscopic examination. Note the pyknotic nuclei (arrows) in the inner aspect of the inner nuclear layer (H&E stain).

Two illustrative cases of acute central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) are presented with multimodal imaging, including fluorescein angiography (FA) and commercially available optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A).

Feb 21, 2005 · The patient’s classic description of painless, sudden loss of vision one day prior to presentation, and the appearance of the "cherry-red spot" on fundus examination made the diagnosis of a central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO).

Aug 1, 2017 · Classic ophthalmoscopic signs include retinal edema (ischemic retinal whiten­ing), cherry red spot (due to underlying normal choroidal circulation), retinal arteriolar attenuation, and, in the acute phase, segmentation of blood in retinal arterioles (also known as box-carring).

Aug 28, 2024 · Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) is a cause of inner retinal infarction and profound, monocular vision loss, most commonly caused by embolic occlusion of the central retinal artery. It is often considered to be the ocular/retinal equivalent to cerebral ischemic stroke.

Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) caused by multiple emboli. A, The right eye shows diffuse retinal whitening, a cotton-wool spot, arteriolar attenuation, and multiple intra-arterial refractile lesions in both superior and inferior arterial distributions.

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What is central retinal artery occlusion? When one of the vessels that carry blood to your eye’s retina gets blocked, you can lose your eyesight. This problem often happens suddenly and without any pain. This is called a central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO).