Retinal angiography is a diagnostic procedure that images the blood vessels and other structures in the retina with the aid of an intravenous dye. It is not an x-ray. There is no exposure to radiation with this test.

Diabetic retinopathy is a retinal disorder seen in diabetic persons. Diabetes compromises the circulation in many parts of the body. Likewise, the blood vessels in the retina can be affected by diabetes. The circulation can be affected in several ways, including leakage of serum through leaky blood vessels (edema), closure or occlusion of blood vessels (ischemia), growth of abnormal new blood vessels (neovascularization), bleeding within the cavity of the eye (vitreous hemorrhage), and scar tissue pulling the retina out of position (retinal detachment).

An epiretinal membrane (also known as preretinal gliosis, preretinal fibrosis, cellophane maculopathy, or macular pucker) is a thin film of transparent tissue which grows on the surface of the retina. It can cause the macula, which normally lies flat and smooth against the back of the eyeball, to become wrinkled.

Floaters are symptoms that people recognize as spots suspended or floating in their field of vision. Many patients describe these as a glob, a strand, a fly, pepper grains, or a web in their vision. They are best visualized against a white background and continue to float past the center vision after an eye movement. Flashes are like streaks of lightening that recur several times a day for several days or longer.

Laser is a thin beam of light that can be aimed at a tissue in the eye to cause a tissue reaction. It is similar to a spotlight in the sky, except that it is microscopic in size.

Macular degeneration is a group of disorders which cause deterioration in the central part of the retina called the macula. The most common type of macular degeneration is age-related macular degeneration. Other types of macular degeneration (such as hereditary, myopic, inflammatory, and toxic) exist, but are much less common.

A macular hole is a defect or opening in the retinal tissue in the center of the macula. The macula is the part of the retina that provides us with the center of our field of vision – the part we need to read with, recognize faces, or thread a needle. Macular holes occur more frequently in women than men.

Pneumatic retinopexy is an office procedure sometimes used to repair a retinal detachment by injecting a gas bubble into the eye.

A retinal detachment is a separation of the retina from the back wall of the eye. The retina should be attached to the back wall of the eye just like wallpaper is attached to a wall. The retina, the thin layer that lines the back of the eyeball, acts as a receiver for what we see. Light enters through the front of the eye and is focused onto the retina in the same way light enters a camera through the lens and is focused onto its receiver. The retina receives the image that we perceive. If the retina comes loose from the wall of the eye, it is detached, and a part of the vision from that eye will be absent.

A retinal tear is a rip in the retina (the thin tissue of nerve cells that lines the back of the eyeball). The retina is the tissue that receives what we see – similar to photographic film in a camera.

Vitrectomy is a surgical operation to remove the vitreous gel from the center cavity of the eye.

Vitreous hemorrhage is blood within the vitreous space, the main cavity inside the eye.