Macular Degeneration

What is Macular Degeneration?

As the eye looks, straight ahead, the macula is the point of the retina upon which the light rays meet as they are focused by the cornea and the lens of the eye. Similar to the film in a camera, the retina receives the images that come through the camera-like lens. If the macula is damaged, the central part of the images is blocked as if a blurred area had been placed in the centre of the picture. The images around the blurred area may be clearly visible.

Macular degeneration is the damage or breakdown of the macula. The eye still sees objects to the side, since side, or peripheral, vision is usually not affected. For this reason, macular degeneration alone does not result in total blindness. However, it can make reading or close work difficult or impossible without the use of special low-vision optical aids.

The retina is the delicate layer of tissue that lines the inside wall of the back of the eye. The macula is a very small area in the centre of the retina. In size, the macula is about the same as a capital ‘O’ in the type of this book. This small area is responsible for our central ‘straight ahead’ sight, used for reading and other fine work.

Although macular degeneration most often occurs in older people, ageing alone does not always result in central visual loss. Nevertheless, macular degeneration is the leading cause of impairment of reading and fine ‘close-up’ vision.