blood-retinal
Protective Eye Barrier
Plain-language definition
A selective barrier formed by tight junctions in retinal vessels and RPE cells that controls what passes from the bloodstream into the retina. Its breakdown causes edema.
Where this term comes up
“Vessels become leaky (breakdown of blood-retinal barrier)”
Condition · Diabetic Macular Edema (DME)
“Under normal conditions, the retina is kept in a precisely dehydrated state by the blood-retinal barrier (BRB), a system of tight junctions between retinal blood vessel cells (inner BRB) and retinal pigment epithelium…”
Condition · Macular Edema
- Category
- Anatomy
- Also written as
- No alternate forms listed.
Anatomy terms name the eye, orbit, optic nerve, retina, or visual pathway structures that may appear in an exam note or imaging report.
Related glossary terms
- fovea
Center of Sharpest Vision
- macula
Central Retina
- photoreceptor
Light-Sensing Cell
- vitreous
Eye's Internal Gel
- aflibercept
Eylea (Anti-VEGF)
- anti-VEGF
Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor
A note on medical context
A glossary definition can explain a word, but it cannot tell you whether a symptom or test result is serious. If this term came from an article, use the full article and your clinician's guidance for context.