macula lutea (redirected from maculae luteae)

macula /mac·u·la/ (mak´u-lah) pl. ma´culae   [L.]

1. a stain, spot, or thickening; in anatomy, an area distinguishable by color or otherwise from its surroundings. Often used alone to refer to the macula retinae.

2. m. lutea.

3. macule.

4. a corneal scar, appreciated as a gray spot.mac´ularmac´ulate

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acoustic maculae  maculae acusticae.

ma´culae acus´ticae  the macula sacculi and macula utriculi considered together.

macula adhe´rens  desmosome.

ma´culae atro´phicae  white scarlike patches formed on the skin by atrophy.

ma´culae ceru´leae  faint grayish blue spots sometimes found peripheral to the axilla or groin in pediculosis.

cerebral macula  tache cérébrale.

ma´culae cribro´sae  three perforated areas (inferior, medial, and superior) on the vestibular wall through which branches of the vestibulocochlear nerve pass to the saccule, utricle, and semicircular canals.

macula den´sa  a zone of heavily nucleated cells in the distal renal tubule.

macula fla´va laryn´gis  a yellow nodule at one end of a vocal cord.

macula lu´tea , macula lu´tea re´tinae, macula re´tinae an irregular yellowish depression on the retina, lateral to and slightly below the optic disk.

macula sac´culi  a thickening on the wall of the saccule where the epithelium contains hair cells that are stimulated by linear acceleration and deceleration and by gravity.

macula utri´culi  a thickening in the wall of the utricle where the epithelium contains hair cells that are stimulated by linear acceleration and deceleration and by gravity.

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macula lu·te·a (lt-)

n. pl. maculae lu·te·ae (lt-)

A minute yellowish area containing the fovea centralis located near the center of the retina of the eye, at which visual perception is most acute. Also called macula retinae, Soemmering's spot, yellow spot.

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macula lutea,

an oval yellow spot at the optical "center" of the retina 2 mm from the optic nerve. It contains a pit, no blood vessels, and the fovea centralis, which contains only retinal cones. Central high-acuity vision occurs when an image is focused directly on the fovea centralis of the macula lutea. Also called

Usage notes: (informal)

macula.

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macula

pl. maculae [L.]

1. a stain, spot, or thickening;

2. an area distinguishable by color or otherwise from its surroundings. Often used alone to refer to the macula retinae.

3. a macule: a discolored spot on the skin that is not raised above the surface.

4. a corneal scar that can be seen without special optical aids; presenting as a gray spot intermediate between a nebula and a leukoma.

5. macula lutea.

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macula acusticae

terminations of the vestibulocochlear nerve in the utricle and saccule.

macula adherens

see desmosome.

macula atrophica

a white atrophic patch on the skin.

macula corneae

a circumscribed opacity of the cornea.

macula cribrosa

a perforated spot or area; one of three perforated areas (inferior, medial and superior) in the wall of the vestibule of the ear through which branches of the vestibulocochlear nerve pass to the saccule, utricle and semicircular canals.

macula densa

a zone of heavily nucleated cells in the distal renal tubule.

macula folliculi

the point on the surface of a vesicular ovarian follicle where rupture occurs; follicular stigma.

macula germinativa

germinal area; the part of the conceptus where the embryo is formed.

inner ear macula

sensory receptor areas in the walls of the utriculus and sacculus which monitor the position of the head relative to gravity; see also macula sacculi, macula utriculi (below).

macula lutea

an irregular yellowish depression on the retina, lateral to and slightly below the optic disk. Called also macula retinae.

macula retinae

see macula lutea (above).

macula sacculi

a thickening on the wall of the saccule where the epithelium contains hair cells that receive and transmit vestibular impulses.

macula utriculi

a thickening in the wall of the utricle where the epithelium contains hair cells that are stimulated by linear acceleration and deceleration and by gravity.

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macula lutea

An oval area of the retina 3-5 mm in diameter, with the foveal depression at its centre, slightly below the level of the optic disc and temporal to it (its centre lies 3.5 mm from the edge of the disc). The side wall of the depression slopes gradually towards the centre where the fovea centralis is located and where the best photopic visual acuity is obtained. Around the fovea, the ganglion cells are much more numerous than elsewhere, being arranged in five to seven layers. The outer molecular layer is also thicker than elsewhere and forms the outer fibre layer of Henle and there is a progressive disappearance of rods so that at the foveola only cones are found. The area of the macula lutea is impregnated by a yellow pigment (macular pigment) in the inner layers and for that reason is often called the yellow spot. Syn. area centralis (although that area is considered to be slightly larger, about 5.5 mm in diameter); punctum luteum. See blue field entoptoscope; fovea centralis; macular pigment.