The Eyes Have It

Dot, Flame, Boat Retinal Hemorrhages

Retinal hemorrhages

This slide of a patient with acute lymphocytic leukemia shows three types of retinal hemorrhages.

The dot hemorrhages, lying deep within the retina, reflect leakage of capillaries or venules. They are common in diabetes.

The flame hemorrhages, lying within the superficial nerve fiber layer, reflect ischemic leakage from arterioles or veins that are ischemic or, in the case of veins, under high pressure.

The boat hemorrhage (pre-retinal), lying at the interface between retina and vitreous, reflects leakage under enough pressure to burst through the internal liminiting membrane of the retina.

Blood can also escape into the vitreous cavity to cause a vitreous hemorrhage.

To learn more about retinal hemorrhages and their causes, check out Retinal Hemorrhages.

 Previous Next 

The Eyes Have It
An interactive teaching and assessment program on vision care
Please contact us with your comments


Originally created by Jonathan Trobe, M.D., University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center
© 2009 The Regents of the University of Michigan

Creative Commons Attribute logo
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.