Retina - a thin layer of tissue covering the back inside wall of your eye. Your retina is like the film in a camera. When the focused light hits your retina, a picture is taken. Messages about this picture are sent to your brain. Then, your brain interprets these messages and that's how you see.

Macula - the small area of your retina responsible for central vision. The macula allows you to see tiny detail, read fine print, read street signs and drive.

Macular Degeneration - an age-related deterioration of the central retina (macula). Macular degeneration can occur in either a dry form or wet form

Dry form - macular degeneration caused by aging and thinning of the tissues of your macula. Vision loss is usually gradual with the dry form macular degeneration.

Wet form - abnormal blood vessels form under your retina, causing leakage and blurred or distorted central vision. Vision loss with the wet form macular degeneration may be rapid.

Neovascularization - the growth of abnormal blood vessels on or under your retina.

Ocular - a word that refers to the eye or vision.

Dilate -or- dilation - the process in which eye drops are used to widen your pupil for examination of the retina.

Fluorescein angiography - a diagnostic test used to take pictures of your retina. A dye is injected into a vein in your arm. As the dye travels through the retina a series of photographs is taken with a special camera. This test is valuable in many retinal diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration. Click here to see an example of the resulting photographs.

ICG angiography - a diagnostic test used to take pictures of a particular layer of your retina; similar to fluorescein angiography. This test is valuable in the treatment of the wet form of macular degeneration.

Ultrasonography - a piece of equipment used to produce an image or photograph of your retina. These images or pictures are useful in the diagnosis of retinal detachment, vitreous hemorrhage and intraocular tumors.