Soft exudates are also known as?

Soft exudates are also known as?

• A. Cotton wool spots
• B. Microhemorrhages
• C. Drusen
• D. Pigment epithelium hyperplasia

Answer: (B)

Soft exudates are cotton-wool spots. They come from microinfarcts in the retinal nerve fiber layer, which cause buildup of axoplasmic material and swelling that shows up as fluffy white patches on exam. They reflect retinal ischemia, commonly seen in diabetic and hypertensive retinopathy, and they’re distinct from hard exudates, which are lipid deposits with sharp borders. Microhemorrhages are actual tiny bleeds and look red or dark, not fluffy white exudates. Drusen are extracellular deposits under the retinal pigment epithelium, and pigment epithelium hyperplasia is a proliferative change of the RPE—neither are soft exudates.

Soft exudates are cotton-wool spots. They come from microinfarcts in the retinal nerve fiber layer, which cause buildup of axoplasmic material and swelling that shows up as fluffy white patches on exam. They reflect retinal ischemia, commonly seen in diabetic and hypertensive retinopathy, and they’re distinct from hard exudates, which are lipid deposits with sharp borders. Microhemorrhages are actual tiny bleeds and look red or dark, not fluffy white exudates. Drusen are extracellular deposits under the retinal pigment epithelium, and pigment epithelium hyperplasia is a proliferative change of the RPE—neither are soft exudates.