macula
/ˈmakjʊlə
/noun (plural maculae /ˈmakjʊliː/)
1 (also macula lutea /ˈluːtɪə/) (plural maculae luteae /ˈluːtɪiː/) Anatomy An oval yellowish area surrounding the fovea near the centre of the retina in the eye, which is the region of keenest vision.The macula lutea or ‘yellow spot’ in the retina is responsible for central vision and visual acuity....
- When we gaze directly at an object, we hold our eyes in such a position that the image of the object falls on the central, specialized region of the retina - the fovea or macula - where visual acuity and colour vision are best.
- The vision loss results from loss of function of the macula, the centre of the retina, which is responsible for central visual tasks such as reading, driving, and recognising faces.
2 another term for macule.We report here a 62-year-old seemingly healthy patient who presented with disseminated erythematous maculae....
- The process is characterized by dirty grayish or ash-gray-colored maculae on the skin of the trunk and limbs.
- On examination, only pallor of mucosae and chronic orange‐purple tibial skin maculae were present.
Synonyms
spot, dot, fleck, mark, speck, speckle, smudge, splash, stain, macule
Origin
Late Middle English: from Latin.