What Is Retinal Disorders?

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:

• Macular degeneration - a disease that destroys your sharp, central vision
• Diabetic eye disease
• Retinal detachment - a medical emergency, when the retina is pulled away from the back of the eye
• Retinoblastoma - cancer of the retina. It is most common in young children.
• 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

NIH: National Eye Institute