Peripapillary Hemorrhage Associated with Posterior Vitreous Detachment

This fundus photograph shows an intraretinal hemorrhage on the edge of the optic disk in a patient who presented with the acute onset of floaters and flashes of the left eye. A dilated fundus examination with scleral depression to carefully check the peripheral retina revealed no retinal breaks. A Weiss ring was seen to be floating in front of the optic disk. A Weiss ring is a translucent ringlike floater in front of the optic disk often but not always seen after a posterior vitreous detachment. It is made of connective tissue from the insertion of the posterior hyaloid face on the optic disk. With posterior vitreous detachment, this ring of tissue pulls away from the optic disk along with the vitreous. Sometimes a peripapillary capillary ruptures in the process and causes an intraretinal hemorrhage as seen here.