retinal

¹ American  

[ret-n-uhl] / ˈrɛt n əl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the retina of the eye.

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retinal ² American  

[ret-n-al, -awl] / ˈrɛt nˌæl, -ˌɔl /

Also retinene

noun

Biochemistry.

1. an orange pigment, C 2 0 H 2 8 O, that is the active component of rhodopsin and is liberated upon the absorption of light in the vision cycle; vitamin A aldehyde.

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Etymology

Origin of retinal¹

First recorded in 1830–40; retin(a) + -al ¹

Origin of retinal²

First recorded in 1940–45; retin(a) + -al ³

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

retinal

"I never saw someone engaged in a strong moral or ethical quest," says Olivier Marre, who worked with Amodei at Princeton on a retinal analysis device.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

Prosthe6 works by targeting ON bipolar cells, retinal neurons that normally receive information from the photoreceptors, the cells responsible for sensing light.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026

The research, which relied on lab grown retinal tissue, was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026

A few meters away, 60-year-old Jose Manuel Garcia, who is blind in one eye and undergoing treatment for retinal detachment to save the other, was seeking passage home to the city of Santiago de Cuba.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

We also have fingerprint, retinal, and DNA scans, and have to step through special metal detectors.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins