Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsAnatomyFunctionClinical SignificanceSymptoms of Macular Damage
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Anatomy
Function
Clinical Significance
Symptoms of Macular Damage
The macula is part of the eye’sretina. Located in the center of the retina, the macula is responsible for giving us clear vision and the ability to see fine detail. Although it is small, it enables us to see “20/20” and to see our world in color. Learn more about the important role the macula plays inside the eye.
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Structure
The macula is an oval-shaped area near the center of the retina. The retina is a light-sensitive layer that lines the back of the eye. It is made up of 200 million neurons, but is only about 0.2 millimeters thick. The retina contains photoreceptors that absorb light and then transmit those light signals through the optic nerve to the brain.
Images that you see come through the eye’s lens and are focused on the retina. The retina then converts these images to electric signals and sends them to the brain.
The macula has a diameter of about 5 mm.The macula can be seen with the use of an ophthalmoscope or a retinal camera. It has six clear subdivisions, including the umbo, foveola, foveal avascular zone, fovea, parafovea, and perifovea areas.
Location
The macula is the pigmented part of the retina located in the very center of the retina. In the center of the macula is the fovea. The fovea is the area that allows for the sharpest visual acuity. It contains a large amount ofcones—nerve cells that are photoreceptors with high acuity.
Color
The macula is yellow in color. The yellow color is derived fromluteinandzeaxanthinin the diet, both yellow xanthophyllcarotenoids contained within the macula.
Because of its yellow color, the macula absorbs excess blue and ultraviolet light that enters the eye, acting as a sunblock to protect the retinal area.
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Because it is responsible for our central vision, diseases involving the macula, such as macular degeneration, cause loss of central vision.
Several problems can affect the macula. The most common ismacular degeneration. Other common conditions that affect the macula are macular edema and macular hole.
Macular Degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration (known as AMD or ARMD) is the leading cause of vision loss in people over 60 in the United States. The condition primarily affects people age 65 and older. AMD causes a deterioration of the macula, the central part of the retina responsible for sharp, central vision. AMD cannot be cured.
2:32Common Risk Factors for Macular Degeneration
2:32
Common Risk Factors for Macular Degeneration
There are two types of AMD.
Dry AMD
Dry AMD is the most common type, accounting for about 90% of all AMD cases. In dry AMD, an observable change in the pigmented cells of the eye occurs, leaving areas of depigmentation, pigment clumping, anddrusen(yellow deposits under the retina).
The degree of vision loss varies with dry AMD. Dry AMD can lead to geographic atrophy which can cause significant vision loss.
The dry form of AMDmay progressto the more severe wet form.
Wet AMD
Wet AMD accounts for approximately 10% of all AMD cases.With the wet form of this disease, central vision capabilities can be damaged rapidly.
New blood vessel growth (neovascularization) occurs underneath the retina. Although these vessels are new, they are frail in nature. Blood and fluid leak out of the new blood vessels, often lifting the macula and causing visual distortions, potentially resulting in permanent tissue damage.
Scarring may occur, causing significant loss of vision and sometimes legal blindness.
Macular Edema
Macular edemaoccurs when fluid builds up in the macula. This buildup distorts vision as the macula swells and thickens. Macular edema can develop from any disease that damages blood vessels in the retina.
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Macular Hole
Amacular holeoccurs when the nerve cells of the macula become separated from each other and pull away from the back surface of the eye, forming a hole. As the hole forms, central vision can become blurry, wavy, or distorted. As the hole gets bigger, a dark or blind spot appears in the central vision, but peripheral (side) vision is not affected.
Common causes of a macular hole include age-related changes (when the vitreous jelly inside the eye pulls away from the back of the eye and takes a piece of the macula with it), previous eye surgery, ocular trauma, and sungazing.
If you have damage to the macula, you may notice the following symptoms. It is important to alert your eye care professional if you note any of the following changes.
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2 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Sebag, J.What Is the Macula?VRM Institute (Vitreous, Retina, Macula).National Eye Institute.Age-related macular degeneration: What you should know. National Eye Institute: NIH publication 03-2294.Additional ReadingBoyd, Kierstan. What Is a Macular Hole? What Causes a Macular Hole? EyeSmart, American Academy of OPhthalmology (AAO).National Institutes of Health, National Eye Institute, NIH. Macular Edema.Porter, Daniel. What Is Macular Edema? EyeSmart, American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).
2 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Sebag, J.What Is the Macula?VRM Institute (Vitreous, Retina, Macula).National Eye Institute.Age-related macular degeneration: What you should know. National Eye Institute: NIH publication 03-2294.Additional ReadingBoyd, Kierstan. What Is a Macular Hole? What Causes a Macular Hole? EyeSmart, American Academy of OPhthalmology (AAO).National Institutes of Health, National Eye Institute, NIH. Macular Edema.Porter, Daniel. What Is Macular Edema? EyeSmart, American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Sebag, J.What Is the Macula?VRM Institute (Vitreous, Retina, Macula).National Eye Institute.Age-related macular degeneration: What you should know. National Eye Institute: NIH publication 03-2294.
Sebag, J.What Is the Macula?VRM Institute (Vitreous, Retina, Macula).
National Eye Institute.Age-related macular degeneration: What you should know. National Eye Institute: NIH publication 03-2294.
Boyd, Kierstan. What Is a Macular Hole? What Causes a Macular Hole? EyeSmart, American Academy of OPhthalmology (AAO).National Institutes of Health, National Eye Institute, NIH. Macular Edema.Porter, Daniel. What Is Macular Edema? EyeSmart, American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).
Boyd, Kierstan. What Is a Macular Hole? What Causes a Macular Hole? EyeSmart, American Academy of OPhthalmology (AAO).
National Institutes of Health, National Eye Institute, NIH. Macular Edema.
Porter, Daniel. What Is Macular Edema? EyeSmart, American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).
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