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A 65-year-old female comes in complaining of acute vision loss in the left eye. The right eye appears normal. The patient denies any recent trauma.

1.	Which layers of the eye are affected?
	a -- nerve fiber layer and inner nuclear layer This is a classic picture for a branch retinal artery occlusion (BRAO).  The layers affected are those supplied by the retinal artery.  This includes the inner retinal layers extending to the inner third of the inner nuclear layer.
2.	Match up the following possible causes for the above entity with its related systemic disorder:
	a. vasospasm 3. migraine b. Hollenhort plaque 1. carotid disease c. calcium embolus 5. cardiac valvular disease d. fibrin-platelet embolus 4. thromboembolism e. stiff, crescent-shaped red blood cells 2. sickle cell disease A branch retinal artery occlusion (BRAO) is usually caused by an embolus that lodges at the bifurcation of a retinal arteriole.  Other causes of  BRAO include migraines, trauma, a coagulation disorder, sickle cell disease, oral contraceptives, an infectious etiology, mitral valve prolapse, cardiac myxoma or an inflammatory disorder.
3.	Following a central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO), what is the risk of another vascular occlusion in the fellow eye?
	b -- 10% Following a central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO), the risk of a CRAO or BRAO in the fellow eye is approximately 10%.