National Institutes of Health
- The primary NIH organization for research on Retinal Disorders is the National Eye Institute
A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine 
National Institutes of Health
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
- 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
NIH: National Eye Institute
The top row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
Basics
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Learn More
, and
Multimedia & Cool Tools
.
For group Basics
For group Learn More
For group Multimedia & Cool Tools
The bottom row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
Research
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Reference Shelf
, and
For You
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For group Research
For group Reference Shelf
For group For You
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Overviews
- Other Retinal Diseases(Foundation Fighting Blindness)
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Latest News
- Scientists ID New Gene Linked to Vision Loss in Infants(07/30/2012, HealthDay)
- Retinal Detachment Risk from Cataract Surgery Falls(07/17/2012, Reuters Health)
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Diagnosis/Symptoms
- Eye Exam: Is a Laser Retina Scan Worthwhile?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Signs of Eye Problems in Adults(Prevent Blindness America)
- Vision Symptoms(American Academy of Ophthalmology)
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Treatment
- Retinal detachment repair - slideshow
- Also available in Spanish
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Prevention/Screening
- Checklist for Your Eye Doctor Appointment(Prevent Blindness America)
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Specific Conditions
- Bardet-Biedl Syndrome(Foundation Fighting Blindness)
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Bietti's Crystalline Dystrophy(National Eye Institute)
- Blockage of Central Retinal Arteries and Veins(Merck & Co., Inc.)
- Cancers Affecting the Retina(Merck & Co., Inc.)
- Choroideremia(Foundation Fighting Blindness)
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Diabetic Retinopathy(National Eye Institute)
- Also available in Spanish
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Flashes and Floaters
(Patient Education Institute)
- Also available in Spanish
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Floaters(National Eye Institute)
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Macular Hole(National Eye Institute)
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Macular Pucker(National Eye Institute)
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Retinal Detachment(National Eye Institute)
- Retinal Detachment: What Is a Torn or Detached Retina?(Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology)
- Also available in Spanish
- Retinal Vessel Occlusion(InteliHealth)
- Retinitis Pigmentosa(Foundation Fighting Blindness)
- Retinopathy(InteliHealth, Harvard Medical School)
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Vitreous Detachment(National Eye Institute)
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Related Issues
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Macular Edema
(American Academy of Ophthalmology)
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Macular Edema
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Pictures & Photographs
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Eye Disease Images(National Eye Institute)
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Eye Examinations(National Eye Institute)
- Flashes and Floaters(Logical Images)
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Eye Disease Images
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Tutorials
- Flashes and Floaters(Patient Education Institute)
- Also available in Spanish
- Retinal Tear and Detachment(Patient Education Institute)
- Also available in Spanish
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Videos
- If I Had - Flashing Lights and Floaters(Insidermedicine)
- If I Had - Retinitis Pigmentosa(Insidermedicine)
- Retina - Encyclopedia
- Also available in Spanish
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Anatomy/Physiology
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Diagram of the Eye(National Eye Institute)
- Also available in Spanish
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Diagram of the Eye
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Financial Issues
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Financial Aid for Eye Care(National Eye Institute)
- Also available in Spanish
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Financial Aid for Eye Care
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Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Retinal Diseases(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Retinal Diseases
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Genetics
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Autosomal Recessive Inheritance(National Eye Institute)
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Genetics Home Reference: Bardet-Biedl syndrome(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Choroideremia(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Familial exudative vitreoretinopathy(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Knobloch syndrome(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Leber congenital amaurosis(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Neuropathy, ataxia, and retinitis pigmentosa(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Refsum disease(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Retinitis pigmentosa(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Senior-Løken syndrome(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Stargardt macular degeneration(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Vitelliform macular dystrophy(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Wagner syndrome(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: X-linked juvenile retinoschisis(National Library of Medicine)
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Learning about Retinitis Pigmentosa(National Human Genome Research Institute)
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Autosomal Recessive Inheritance
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Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
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Dictionaries/Glossaries
- Glossary(Foundation Fighting Blindness)
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Directories
- Find a Pediatric Ophthalmologist(American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
- Find an Eye M.D.(American Academy of Ophthalmology)
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Finding an Eye Care Professional(National Eye Institute)
- Also available in Spanish
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Organizations
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Newsletters/Print Publications
- In Focus Online(Foundation Fighting Blindness)
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Children
- Juvenile Retinoschisis(Foundation Fighting Blindness)
- Leber Congenital Amaurosis(Foundation Fighting Blindness)
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Retinoblastoma (PDQ): Treatment(National Cancer Institute)
- Also available in Spanish
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Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)(National Eye Institute)
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Patient Handouts
- Amaurosis fugax
- Also available in Spanish
- Central serous choroidopathy
- Also available in Spanish
- Electroretinography
- Also available in Spanish
- Fluorescein angiography
- Also available in Spanish
- Home vision tests
- Also available in Spanish
- Hypertensive retinopathy
- Also available in Spanish
- Ophthalmoscopy
- Also available in Spanish
- Retinal artery occlusion
- Also available in Spanish
- Retinal detachment
- Also available in Spanish
- Retinal detachment repair
- Also available in Spanish
- Retinal vein occlusion
- Also available in Spanish
- Retinitis pigmentosa
- Also available in Spanish
- Retinopathy of prematurity
- Also available in Spanish
- Slit-lamp exam
- Also available in Spanish
- Standard ophthalmic exam
- Also available in Spanish
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You may also be interested in these related encyclopedia pages:
MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
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Retinal Disorders - Multiple Languages