Characterizing spatial distributions of astrocytes in the mammalian retina.

Motivation: In addition to being involved in retinal vascular growth, astrocytes play an important role in diseases and injuries, such as glaucomatous neuro-degeneration and retinal detachment. Studying astrocytes, their morphological cell characteristics and their spatial relationships to the surrounding vasculature in the retina may elucidate their role in these conditions.

Results: Our results show that in normal healthy retinas, the distribution of observed astrocyte cells does not follow a uniform distribution.