Bergmeister papilla are often benign, asymptomatic findings that represent fetal remnants of the hyaloid artery (incomplete resorption of Cloquet’s canal). As this finding denotes persistent fetal vasculature, Bergmeister papilla are often found in individuals born prematurely. Though not present in this fundus photo, Bergmeister papilla can contain retinal vessels (i.e. prepapillary vascular loop), which in very rare instances can thrombose, leading to symptomatic vitreous hemorrhage, BRAO/BRVO, or hyphema. However, for the vast majority of individuals, this is an asymptomatic, incidental finding requiring no further workup.
Fundus photo demonstrates a Bergmeister papilla on the optic nerve head of the right eye in this patient (white arrow). Note also that the right optic nerve is diffusely pale compared with the left. This is due to a history of Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein (MOG)-IgG associated optic neuritis affecting the right eye in this patient.
Ophthalmic Atlas Images by EyeRounds.org, The University of Iowa are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.