Macular edema

What it means

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. It can either have a cystoid aspect in the fovea, or a more diffuse aspect.

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 this11

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

Also called: Macular oedema