Cystoid macular edema

What it means

Cystoid thickening of the retina that takes place due to accumulation of extracellular fluid in the macula as a nonspecific response to blood-retinal barrier breakdown. Histological studies show that radially orientated cystoid spaces consisting of ophthalmoscopically clear fluid are often clinically detectable in the macula area.

Macular edema is a common pathological response to a wide variety of ocular insults, most commonly after intraocular (e.g. cataract) surgery or in association with retinal vascular (e.g. diabetic eye disease, retinal vein occlusion) or inflammatory (e.g. uveitis) disease.

Rare diseases that can present with this9

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category