A fundus lesion which emits fluorescent light without the presence of sodium fluorescein is called?

A fundus lesion which emits fluorescent light without the presence of sodium fluorescein is called?

• A. Autofluorescent
• B. Hyperfluorescent
• C. Hypofluorescent
• D. Fluorescent

Answer: (A)

Autofluorescence from intrinsic retinal fluorophores is the key idea. A fundus lesion that emits light without injecting dye means the glow comes from the tissue itself, not from an exogenous contrast agent. In the retina, lipofuscin in the retinal pigment epithelium is naturally fluorescent when excited by the light used in autofluorescence imaging, so the lesion is described as autofluorescent. This technique helps assess RPE health, with areas of increased autofluorescence indicating excess lipofuscin or stressed RPE and areas of decreased autofluorescence suggesting RPE loss or blockage. The other terms relate to dye-based imaging (hyperfluorescent/hypofluorescent patterns seen with fluorescein angiography) or imply the presence of dye, not tissue autofluorescence.

Autofluorescence from intrinsic retinal fluorophores is the key idea. A fundus lesion that emits light without injecting dye means the glow comes from the tissue itself, not from an exogenous contrast agent. In the retina, lipofuscin in the retinal pigment epithelium is naturally fluorescent when excited by the light used in autofluorescence imaging, so the lesion is described as autofluorescent. This technique helps assess RPE health, with areas of increased autofluorescence indicating excess lipofuscin or stressed RPE and areas of decreased autofluorescence suggesting RPE loss or blockage. The other terms relate to dye-based imaging (hyperfluorescent/hypofluorescent patterns seen with fluorescein angiography) or imply the presence of dye, not tissue autofluorescence.