What Is a Detached Retina?

The retina is the light-sensitive layer of tissue that lines the inside of the eye and sends visual messages through the optic nerve to the brain. When the retina detaches, it is lifted or pulled from its normal position. If not promptly treated, a detached retina can cause permanent vision loss. In some cases, there may be small areas of the retina that are torn. These areas, called retinal tears or retinal breaks, can lead to retinal detachment.

Understanding the Eye

In order to understand a detached retina, it is helpful to understand the parts of your eye involved with sight. These structures include the:

Cornea Iris upil !ens "acula #etina.

$our cornea is a thin, clear layer on the outside of your eye. The iris, or the colored part of your eye, is a muscle that controls the amount of light going through your pupil, or the round opening in the center of your eye. %ehind the iris sits the lens, which is &ust larger than your pupil. The iris is enclosed by a thin, clear capsule that holds the lens in its proper place. When light enters your eye, the cornea and lens form the light rays into a beam of light that is focused directly onto your retina -- the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. The retina instantly converts light, or an image, into electrical impulses. The retina then sends these impulses, or nerve signals, to the brain through the optic nerve. The optic nerve is a bundle of more than one million nerve fibers connecting the retina to the brain. The macula is located in the center of the retina. It is made up of millions of light-sensing cells that help to produce central vision. "ost of the eye's interior is filled with vitreous, a gel-like substance that fills about () percent of the eye and helps it maintain a round shape. The vitreous contains millions of fine fibers that are attached to the surface of the retina.

symptoms of a Detached Retina

Common symptoms of a detached retina include:

*loaters, which are little +cobwebs+ or specks that float about in your field of vision !ight flashes in the eye +Curtain+ over the field of vision %lurred vision artial or complete central or peripheral vision loss.

ain is not a symptom of a detached retina.