Dear Reader,

vascular diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developed nations. In the year 2000, an estimated 22% of US citizens suffered from at least one cardiovascular disease; for nearly one million of them, the disease was deadly. In addition, lifestyles that promote vascular diseases are now expanding at an unprecedented rate throughout the world. If unchecked, the costs of vascular treatments of vascular eye diseases will rapidly outpace the slowing rates of economical growth and exhaust available resources. Closer links between organ specialities have been proposed by some medical experts, whereas individual vascular specialities have been expanded by others.

This online-journal „OCULAR CIRCULATION“ will provide a comprehensive state-of-the-art review of current vascular topics in ophthalmology. To provide a balanced multidisciplinary perspective, the various vascular topics will be presented in succession by experts.

To provide a systematic overview of the vascular field in ophthalmology the online-journal „OCULAR CIRCULATION“ has been divided into Basic Research, Choroidal Circulation, Clinical Research, Neuro Protection, Ocular Metabolism, Optic Nerve Circulation, Orbital Vessels, Oximetry, Retinal Circulation, and Systemic Circulation. To assist the visitor in quickly locating the topic of his or her interest, the selected parts of „OCULAR CIRCULATION“ were further subdivided in articles or oral presentations. Individual chapters then provide definitive reviews of vascular diseases of specific vascular beds. The elaborate index in the search machine facilitates multidisciplinary cross-reference between individual items.

„OCULAR CIRCULATION“ represents an early effort toward an interactive environment. Establishing the first „ocular circulation“ platform in the world wide web will allow the first wave of scholars, residents and fellows to continuously flesh out new concepts, stimulate their clinical life, and promote the quality of the patient care.
It is a great pleasure and honor to thank to our colleague-authors worldwide, many of them trusted friends, who by kindly agreeing to become members of the very first ocular circulation team and devoting their time and providing their expertise made this exciting enterprise possible.

Charles Riva         Leopold Schmetterer       Georg Michelson
Editor                   Co-Editor                       Co-Editor and Publisher