Siegrist streaks are a rare manifestation of hypertensive

Hypertension

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...

 choroidopathy. They are described as hyper-pigmented

Hyperpigmentation

In dermatology, hyperpigmentation is the darkening of an area of skin or nails caused by increased melanin.-Causes:Hyperpigmentation may be caused by sun damage, inflammation, or other skin injuries, including those related to acne vulgaris...

 flecks that are arranged in a linear fashion along the choroid

Choroid

The choroid, also known as the choroidea or choroid coat, is the vascular layer of the eye, containing connective tissue, and lying between the retina and the sclera. The human choroid is thickest at the far extreme rear of the eye , while in the outlying areas it narrows to 0.1 mm...

al vessels of the eye

Human eye

The human eye is an organ which reacts to light for several purposes. As a conscious sense organ, the eye allows vision. Rod and cone cells in the retina allow conscious light perception and vision including color differentiation and the perception of depth...

.

Although they are usually indicative of fibrinoid necrosis

Fibrinoid necrosis

Fibrinoid necrosis is a form of necrosis, or tissue death, in which there is accumulation of amorphous, basic, proteinaceous material in the tissue matrix with a staining pattern reminiscent of fibrin. It is associated with conditions such as immune vasculitis Fibrinoid necrosis is a form of...

 associated with malignant hypertension

Hypertension

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...

, Siegrist streaks also occur in patients with temporal arteritis

Temporal arteritis

Giant-cell arteritis or Horton disease is an inflammatory disease of blood vessels most commonly involving large and medium arteries of the head...

. They are named after Swiss ophthalmologist, August Siegrist

August Siegrist

August Siegrist was a Swiss ophthalmologist remembered for describing Siegrist streaks. He trained at Basel, Zurich, Lausanne, Vienna and Bern, where he received his M.D. in 1892. He studied further in Bern under Emil Theodor Kocher and in Vienna under Ernst Fuchs...

(1865–1947).