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Retinal detachment
Make it clearer
Retinal detachment happens when the neurosensory retina, the layer that captures light at the back of the eye, separates from the pigment epithelium just beneath it.
That separation is not only a mechanical peeling away. The choroid is the vessel-rich layer that brings oxygen and nutrients to the photoreceptors, the cells that turn light into a signal. Once separated, the retina is left without that supply and the tissue dies. It is a sheet peeling off the wall that held it and fed it.
There are three ways it can happen. The rhegmatogenous type occurs when there is a tear in the retina and fluid seeps through it and gets underneath. The tractional type occurs when proliferative membranes, new tissue that grows and contracts, pull on the retina and lift it. And the exudative type occurs when fluid builds up beneath the retina.
In brief
Retinal detachment happens when the neurosensory retina separates from the pigment epithelium beneath it.
Once separated from the pigment epithelium and the choroid, the retina loses its supply of oxygen and nutrients and the tissue dies; the photoreceptors depend on the choroid.
A sheet peeling off the wall that held it and fed it.
There are three categories: rhegmatogenous, from fluid passing through a tear; tractional, when proliferative membranes lift the retina; and exudative, from fluid buildup.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingRetinal Detachment, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated