macula
[mak-yuh-luh]
- a spot or blotch, especially on one's skin; macule.
- Ophthalmology.
- an opaque spot on the cornea.
- Also called macula lutea, yellow spot.an irregularly oval, yellow-pigmented area on the central retina, containing color-sensitive rods and the central point of sharpest vision.
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Origin of macula
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin: spot, blemish
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for macular
Contemporary Examples
And in her final years, when she was blinded by macular degeneration and suffocating with emphysema, vanity left her isolated.
When RPE cells die, as they do in macular degeneration, the photoreceptors begin to die, too, and the patient goes blind.
Historical Examples
The macular or flat variety is usually seen about the eyelids.
Essentials of Diseases of the SkinHenry Weightman Stelwagon
The macular, papular, and bullous eruptions are most common.
Essentials of Diseases of the SkinHenry Weightman Stelwagon
It is not to be confounded with vitiligo, chloasma, or the macular syphiloderm.
Essentials of Diseases of the SkinHenry Weightman Stelwagon
Spot, as in macular, relating to or marked by macules, or spotted.
Surgery, with Special Reference to PodiatryMaximilian Stern
As a rule these clear up satisfactorily unless the macular region be involved.
macula
macule (ˈmækjuːl)
- a small spot or area of distinct colour, esp the macula lutea
- any small discoloured spot or blemish on the skin, such as a freckle
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Word Origin
C14: from Latin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for macular
macula
n.
plural maculae, from Latin macula "spot, stain," used of various spots (sunspots, markings on minerals, etc.), of uncertain origin. Especially the macula lutea in the eye.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
macula
(măk′yə-lə)- Also mac•ule (-yōōl′) A discolored spot or area on the skin that is not elevated above the surface and is characteristic of certain conditions, such as smallpox, purpura, or roseola.
- An opaque spot on the cornea.
- The macula lutea.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
macula
[măk′yə-lə]
- A minute yellowish area located near the center of the retina of the eye, at which visual perception is most acute.
- A discolored spot on the skin that is not elevated above the surface.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.