Macula

The macula (), in full macula lutea, is an oval-shaped pigmented area in the center of the retina of the human eye and in other animals. The macula in humans has a diameter of around 5.5 mm (0.22 in) and is subdivided into the umbo, foveola, foveal avascular zone, fovea, parafovea, and perifovea areas. The anatomical macula, at a size of 5.5 mm (0.22 in), is much larger than the clinical macula, which, at a size of 1.5 mm (0.059 in), corresponds to the anatomical fovea. The macula is responsible for the central, high-resolution, color vision that is possible in good light. This kind of vision is impaired if the macula is damaged, as in macular degeneration. The clinical macula is seen when viewed from the pupil, as in ophthalmoscopy or retinal photography. The term macula lutea comes from Latin macula, "spot", and lutea, "yellow".