ABSTRACT
Exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
was first described and illustrated in the literature in
1875 by Pagenstecher (1). Pagenstecher termed the
condition chorioidioretinitis in regione maculae
luteae. Then in 1905, Oeller first used the name disci-
form degeneration (degeneratio maculae luteae
disciformis) (2). Later, Julius and Kuhnt in 1926
further elaborated on this condition and established
it as a disease (3). Further study by clinicians and
pathologists over the next several decades resulted in
the understanding that choroidal neovascularization
(CNV) was responsible for the manifestations of
exudative AMD. The fact that disciform scars had
associated CNV was revealed in 1928 by Holloway
and Verhoeff who described eight eyes with disclike
degeneration of the retina (4); histopathology showed
CNV. In 1937, Verhoeff and Grossman similarly
demonstrated CNV in their cases of macular degener-
ation and emphasized that blood vessels erupted
through Bruch’s membrane (5). It was not until 1951
that clinicopathologic correlations by Ashton and
Sorsby demonstrated that CNV with breaks in
Bruchs membrane results in subretinal fluid (6).
Finally, in 1967 Gass implicated CNV as having a
primary role in what was then called “senile disciform
macular degeneration” (7,8). In 1971, Blair and Aaberg
showed the clinical and fluorescein angiographic
characteristics of CNV in these eyes with “senile
macular degeneration” (9). In 1976, Small published
a clinicopathologic correlation of the evolution of a
lesion, comprised of CNV with a serous pigment
epithelial detachment (PED), to a disciform scar (10).
In 1977, Green and Key (11) studied the histopatho-
logic features of 176 eyes from 115 patients with
AMD. Their results supported the view that drusen
predispose to development of CNV. Since then,
numerous studies have given us ample histopatho-
