In the study of the pathogenesis of detachment of the retina an important place is occupied by biochemical research on the subretinal fluid (SRF).According to current theories of pathogenesis, tears are considered to be the main factor in the development of retinal detachment. The Using the same method, Chignell, Carruthers, andRahi (I97i) have demonstrated that the subretinal fluid tends to become more like normal serum the greater the duration of the detachment. However, one of the fractions which is always present in normal serum (IgM) was not found in any of the cases studied, even those of long duration in which repeated operations had been carried out. The authors believed that this indicated that the capillary endothelium and Bruch's membrane were of limited permeability even in such cases, since in no instance did the subretinal fluid have the protein characteristics of a true exudate.Using the same method for their immunochemical studies of the vitreous body in human beings and cattle, Cooper, Halbert, and Manski (I963) found large amounts of serum protein. They also found tissue antigens in the human vitreous body that were unconnected with serum. This suggested that the soluble vitreous body antigens are not entirely derived from blood plasma. Analysis of the subretinal fluid of patients with idiopathic detachment revealed the presence of vitreous body components. The authors believed that, if normal human vitreous body contained a large amount of serum protein, the presence of such protein in the subretinal fluid did not indicate that it came from blood, while on the other hand discovery of specific vitreous body protein in the subretinal fluid showed that the vitreous body had something to do with the formation of the fluid. Thus the vitreous body is a component of the subretinal fluid and therefore plays a significant role in the formation and development of idiopathic retinal detachment.Studies of other components in the SRF have been few. Information on the content of mucopolysaccharides (glucosamine glucans) in the SRF is limited.

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