We say the retina is part of your brain, it is a thin layer of the tissue that lines the back of the eye. The purpose of the retina is to receive light, convert the light into neural signals, and send these signals on to the brain for visual recognition.

All the photos below  are taken by Dr. Zhu’s practice, posted for the purpose of education , all rights reserved.

Normal Retina 

Age Related Macular Degeneration ( Dry) 

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an eye disease that can blur your central vision. It happens when aging causes damage to the macula — the part of the eye that controls sharp, straight-ahead vision. The macula is part of the retina (the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye).

AMD is a common condition — it’s a leading cause of vision loss for older adults. AMD doesn’t cause complete blindness, but losing your central vision can make it harder to see faces, read, drive, or do close-up work like cooking or fixing things around the house.

Approximately 15 million people in the United States have AMD, and more than 1.7 million Americans have the advanced form of the disease.If you have early AMD, you may not notice vision loss for a long time. That’s why it’s important to get regular eye exams.

left:   Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO)
right: Branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) 

Retinal vein occlusion happens when a blood clot blocks the vein on the back of the eye. It is more likely to occur in people with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or other health problems that affect blood flow