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What is Vitreous Gel?

Emma Lloyd
Emma Lloyd

Vitreous gel, also called vitreous humor, is a clear gel which fills most of the interior of the eyeball. One of the main functions of this gel is simply to enable the eyeball to hold its spherical shape, as without the gel the eyeball would collapse. The gel also helps hold the retina in place against the interior wall of the eyeball. Diseases which affect the vitreous gel can cause partial or full loss of vision.

The vitreous gel is colorless, clear, and up to four times more viscous than water. This gelatinous liquid fills almost the entire eyeball; the only structures inside the eye which are not filled with the gel are the lens at the front of the eye, and the retinal lining at the back. The humor is produced by cells present in the retina of the eye, and despite its high viscosity, the gel is up to 99% water.

Diseases which affect the vitreous gel may cause loss of vision.
Diseases which affect the vitreous gel may cause loss of vision.

Along with the water which comprises most of the vitreous humor, the gel also contains several types of sugars and salts, collagen fibers, amino acids, and proteins. A small number of cells are present in the gel. These are phagocytes, a type of cell that ingests waste matter all over the body. In the eye, these cells help ensure the visual field remains clear.

The vitreous humor is a clear gel which fills most of the interior of the eyeball.
The vitreous humor is a clear gel which fills most of the interior of the eyeball.

Although phagocytes are present in the eye removing cellular debris, the vitreous gel does not undergo any process of circulation. The gel is not replaced or replenished via any circulatory system; instead it is largely stagnant. This is one reason why diseases of the vitreous humor can have such a debilitating effect on vision.

One of the most common diseases of the eye caused by a disorder of the vitreous humor is called posterior vitreous detachment. This condition develops with age, and is common in people between the ages of 40 and 70. Posterior vitreous detachment occurs because the vitreous gel changes slowly over time, becoming less dense and more liquid; the mass of vitreous humor begins to shrink, and falls away from the retina. One of the most common symptoms of this disease is the appearance of vitreous floaters, tiny specks of black which appear in the field of vision. Flashes of light are another common symptom.

People with type 1 diabetes are at risk of developing a kind of vitreous degeneration disease called retinal detachment.
People with type 1 diabetes are at risk of developing a kind of vitreous degeneration disease called retinal detachment.

People with type 1 or type 2 diabetes are at risk of developing another kind of vitreous degeneration disease called retinal detachment. This disease develops as a result of damage to retinal blood vessels caused by high glucose levels, but also causes the appearance of floaters and flashes, as with posterior vitreous detachment. Destruction of blood vessels prompts the growth of new vessels, some of which may develop in the vitreous humor. This can cause the appearance of large black patches in the field of vision, as well as increasingly blurred vision.

Diseases that affect the vitreous gel can result in increasingly blurred vision.
Diseases that affect the vitreous gel can result in increasingly blurred vision.

Retinal detachment may be treated with laser photocoagulation, a treatment which improves vision by cauterizing the new blood vessels which develop. Another treatment is vitrectomy, which involves the removal of the vitreous gel. The gel is replaced with a sterile saline solution, thus improving vision due to the removal of blood vessels from the vitreous humor.

Discussion Comments

pharmchick78

@googlefanz -- You're right, floaters are related to the eye's vitreous gel. But you don't need to worry. Floaters are basically little bits of debris that are floating around in the vitreous humor, or vitreous gel of your eye.

They are normally not a sign of anything dangerous. Floaters occur in many people (up to 70 percent of all people experience them at some time in their life), and unless they start getting big enough to impair your vision, or you start seeing flashing lights along with them, then you probably don't need to worry.

If you do start seeing issues like that though, you could have a vitreous tear, and would need to see your ophthalmologist at once -- so keep an eye on things, just in case, but don't worry about it. Just one of those weird body things that many people experience.

googlefanz

Can somebody explain to me about the eye problem called "floaters"? I have just recently noticed these floating things when I look at light backgrounds, and I asked somebody about it, and they said it was "floaters".

I think that this has something to do with the vitreous gel in the eye, but I'm not sure -- can somebody clear this up for me? I'm starting to get kind of freaked out by the whole thing; it's like I've got little bugs in my eyes!

rallenwriter

It's so weird to think of your eyes being filled with gel -- I mean, I never think of vitreous fluid on a daily basis, it's just so clear that you don't even think about it being there.

The whole vitreous gel retina detachment sounds really scary though! What are some of the other risk factors for that? Can that just happen in a normal person, and how would you recognize it if it did? Just one more crazy thing about the human body...

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    • Diseases which affect the vitreous gel may cause loss of vision.
      By: chatsimo
      Diseases which affect the vitreous gel may cause loss of vision.
    • The vitreous humor is a clear gel which fills most of the interior of the eyeball.
      By: kocakayaali
      The vitreous humor is a clear gel which fills most of the interior of the eyeball.
    • People with type 1 diabetes are at risk of developing a kind of vitreous degeneration disease called retinal detachment.
      By: joshya
      People with type 1 diabetes are at risk of developing a kind of vitreous degeneration disease called retinal detachment.
    • Diseases that affect the vitreous gel can result in increasingly blurred vision.
      By: bellemedia
      Diseases that affect the vitreous gel can result in increasingly blurred vision.
    • People who detect changes in their vision should consult an eye care professional.
      By: fred goldstein
      People who detect changes in their vision should consult an eye care professional.