The retina is a layer of tissue in the back of your eye that senses light and sends images to your brain. In the center of this nerve tissue is the macula. It provides the sharp, central vision needed for reading, driving and seeing fine detail.
Retinal disorders affect this vital tissue. They can affect your vision, and some can be serious enough to cause blindness. Examples are
- Retinal detachment - a medical emergency, when the retina is pulled away from the back of the eye
- Macular pucker - scar tissue on the macula
- Macular hole - a small break in the macula that usually happens to people over 60
- Floaters - cobwebs or specks in your field of vision
National Eye Institute
- Eye Exam: Do I Need a Laser Retina Scan?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/eye-exam/AN01663/METHOD=print
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Signs of Eye Problems in Adults(Prevent Blindness America) - http://www.preventblindness.org/eye_problems/signsadults.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.preventblindness.org/eye_problems/spanish_signsadults.htm
- Checklist for Your Eye Doctor Appointment(Prevent Blindness America) - http://www.preventblindness.org/eye_problems/doc_checklist.html
- Eye Exams: What to Expect(Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology) - http://www.eyecareamerica.org/eyecare/treatment/eye-exams.cfm
- Bardet-Biedl Syndrome(Foundation Fighting Blindness) - http://www.blindness.org/index.php?view=article&catid=38%3Aother-retinal-diseases&id=292%3Abardet-biedl-syndrome&option=com_content&Itemid=88
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Bietti's Crystalline Dystrophy
(National Eye Institute) - http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/biettis/
- Choroideremia(Foundation Fighting Blindness) - http://www.blindness.org/index.php?view=article&catid=38%3Aother-retinal-diseases&id=251%3Achoroideremia&option=com_content&Itemid=88
- Detached and Torn Retina(Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology) - http://www.eyecareamerica.org/eyecare/conditions/retinal-detachment/index.cfm
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Facts about Floaters(National Eye Institute) - http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/floaters/
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Facts about Vitreous Detachment(National Eye Institute) - http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/vitreous/
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Flashes and Floaters
(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/flashesandfloaters/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/flashesandfloatersspanish/htm/index.htm -
JAMA Patient Page: Retinopathy(American Medical Association) - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/298/8/944.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/298/8/944/DC1/1
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Macular Hole(National Eye Institute) - http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/macularhole/
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Macular Pucker(National Eye Institute) - http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/pucker/
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Retinal Detachment(National Eye Institute) - http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/retinaldetach/
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Retinal Tear and Detachment(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/retinaltearanddetachment/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/retinaltearanddetachmentspanish/htm/index.htm
- Retinal Vessel Occlusion(InteliHealth) - http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9339/10608.html
- Retinitis Pigmentosa(Foundation Fighting Blindness) - http://www.blindness.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=67
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Eye Disease Images(National Eye Institute) - http://www.nei.nih.gov/photo/keyword.asp?conditions=Eye+Disease+Images
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Eye Examinations(National Eye Institute) - http://www.nei.nih.gov/photo/keyword.asp?conditions=Eye+Exams
- Flashes and Floaters(Logical Images) - http://www.visualdxhealth.com/adult/flashesandFloaters.htm
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Flashes and Floaters(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/flashesandfloaters/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/flashesandfloatersspanish/htm/index.htm
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Retinal Tear and Detachment(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/retinaltearanddetachment/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/retinaltearanddetachmentspanish/htm/index.htm
- Latest in Retinal Surgery Techniques(OR-Live) - Requires media player - One hour program - http://www.or-live.com/distributors/NLM/rnh.cfm?id=170
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Diagram of the Eye(National Eye Institute) - http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/eyediagram/
Also available in Spanish http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/espanol/diagrama_ojo.asp
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Financial Aid for Eye Care(National Eye Institute) - http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/financialaid.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/espanol/financialaid_sp.asp
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Retinal Diseases(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Retinal+Diseases%22
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Genetics Home Reference: Choroideremia(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=choroideremia
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Genetics Home Reference: Neuropathy, ataxia, and retinitis pigmentosa(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=neuropathyataxiaandretinitispigmentosa
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Genetics Home Reference: Vitelliform macular dystrophy(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=vitelliformmaculardystrophy
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Genetics Home Reference: X-linked juvenile retinoschisis(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=xlinkedjuvenileretinoschisis
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Gene Therapy for Leber Congenital Amaurosis(National Eye Institute) - http://www.nei.nih.gov/lca/blindness.asp
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Phase 1 Clinical Trial Results of Gene Transfer for Leber Congenital Amaurosis Reported(National Eye Institute) - http://www.nei.nih.gov/news/statements/leber1.asp
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Familial retinoblastoma with unilateral and unifocal involvement in 2 families. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18779498&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Association of a novel mutation in the retinol dehydrogenase 12... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18779497&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Iodine I 125 plaque radiotherapy for vasoproliferative tumors of the... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18779485&tool=MedlinePlus
- Retinal Disorders -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=retinal+diseases[majr]+NOT+(diabetic+retinopathy[mh]+OR+usher+syndromes[mh]+OR+macular+degeneration[mh])+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+(jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])+NOT+letter[pt]&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Find a Pediatric Ophthalmologist(American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus) - http://aapos.affiniscape.com/associations/5371/aapos_search.cfm
- Find an Eye M.D.(American Academy of Ophthalmology) - http://www.aao.org/aao/eyemd_disclaimer.cfm
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Finding an Eye Care Professional(National Eye Institute) - http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/findprofessional.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/espanol/findpro_sp.asp
- American Academy of Ophthalmology - http://www.aao.org/
- Foundation Fighting Blindness - http://www.blindness.org/
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National Eye Institute - http://www.nei.nih.gov/
- Prevent Blindness America - http://www.preventblindness.org/
- Genetics Influence Risk of Retinopathy of Prematurity(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/research/genetics_retinopathy.html
- Juvenile Retinoschisis(Foundation Fighting Blindness) - http://www.blindness.org/index.php?view=article&catid=38%3Aother-retinal-diseases&id=252%3Aretinoschisis&option=com_content&Itemid=88
- Leber Congenital Amaurosis(Foundation Fighting Blindness) - http://www.blindness.org/index.php?view=article&catid=38%3Aother-retinal-diseases&id=253%3Aleber-congenital-amaurosis&option=com_content&Itemid=88
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Retinoblastoma (PDQ): Treatment(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/retinoblastoma/patient/
Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.gov/espanol/pdq/tratamiento/retinoblastoma/patient/
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Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)(National Eye Institute) - http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/rop/
- Diabetic Eye Problems - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/diabeticeyeproblems.html
- Eye Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/eyediseases.html
- Macular Degeneration - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/maculardegeneration.html
- Usher Syndrome - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ushersyndrome.html
- Eyes and Vision - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/eyesandvision.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Retinal Disorders is the National Eye Institute - http://www.nei.nih.gov/
Retinal Disorders - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/retinaldisorders.html