In 1881, British ophthalmologist Warren Tay published his groundbreaking observation of a cherry-red spot on the retina of a child suffering from a neurological disorder.
Term first used in 1887 by Bernard Sachs in a paper on “arrested development with special reference to its cortical pathology.” Sachs described the fundus of a child with “amaurotic familial idiocy,”
The condition was later identified as Tay-Sachs disease.
Herman Joseph Knapp:
An ophthalmologist who first used the term “cherry red color” at an ophthalmology meeting in Heidelberg.
Initially thought the finding was benign but later recognized its serious implications.
Pathophysiology
Underlying cause:
Pale perifoveal retina due to deposition of lipids, sphingolipids, or oligosaccharides in ganglion cells.
Retained red appearance of the fovea because it lacks ganglion cells, allowing the choroidal vasculature to remain visible.
