Epiretinal membrane

Common card · No. 479925

Epiretinal membrane or macular pucker is a disease of the eye in response to changes in the vitreous humor or more rarely, diabetes. Sometimes, as a result of the immune system's response to protect the retina, cells converge in the macular area as the vitreous ages and pulls away in posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). PVD can cause minor damage to the retina, including exudates, inflammation, and leucocyte response. These cells can form a transparent layer gradually and, like all scar tissue, tighten to create tension on the retina, which may bulge and pucker, or even cause swelling or macular edema. Often this results in distortions of vision that are clearly visible as bowing and blurring when looking at lines on chart paper (or an Amsler grid) within the macular area, or within the central 1.0-degree of visual arc. Usually, it occurs in one eye first and may cause binocular diplopia or double vision if the images from the two eyes differ significantly. The distortions can make objects...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Jmarchn, CC BY-SA 3.0