Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 3 complete abstracts (704 words), 9 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
The ten-layered nervous tissue membrane of the eye. It is continuous with the optic nerve and receives images of external objects and transmits visual impulses to the brain. Its outer surface is in contact with the choroid and the inner surface with the vitreous body. The outer-most layer is pigmented, whereas the inner nine layers are transparent.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Ora Serrata.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Eye
- Narrower topics
- Blood-Retinal Barrier; Fundus Oculi; Macula Lutea; Optic Disk; Retinal Neurons; Retinal Pigment Epithelium
- See also
- Angioid Streaks; Electroretinography
Related concepts
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 166,485 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Retina” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 30,164 of them (18.1%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is through 1999 with 64,505 records.
Reviews account for 12,048 records (7.2%) and meta-analyses for 319. Randomized controlled trials number 1,811 (1.1%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 64,505 |
| 2000-2009 | 29,004 |
| 2010-2019 | 42,812 |
| 2020 onward | 30,164 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 12,048 | 7.2% |
| Meta-analyses | 319 | 0.2% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 1,811 | 1.1% |
Method: PubMed query "Retina"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in anatomy and physiology
Anatomy describes how body structures are built and physiology describes how they normally work, so most findings here are descriptive or mechanistic rather than evidence about treatment. Much of what is known comes from dissection, imaging, tissue studies and experiments in animals, and measurements in healthy volunteers can differ from those in people with disease or at different ages. Normal ranges vary between individuals and populations. Check whether a result was measured in people or in another species, the age and health of the participants, and the method used.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single-cell analysis of the epigenome and 3D chromatin architecture in the human retina | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 2 | cc by PMID 42490430 · DOI · PMC13394472 |
| Linking retinal sampling in neural encoding models to temporal profiles of visual processing in humans | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 2 | cc by PMID 42378260 · DOI · PMC13340806 |
| Effect of chronic high-altitude hypoxia on retinal vascular phenotype, choroidal and retinal vasoreactivity in Peruvian highlanders | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 2 | cc by PMID 42603100 · DOI · PMC13476870 |
Single-cell analysis of the epigenome and 3D chromatin architecture in the human retina [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Most genetic risk variants linked to ocular diseases are nonprotein coding and presumably contribute to disease through dysregulation of gene expression; however, understanding their mechanisms has been impeded by incomplete annotation of transcriptional regulatory elements across retinal cell types.
- Closing excerpt
- Our study establishes retina-wide, single-cell transcriptome, epigenome, and 3D genome atlases and provides a resource for studying the gene regulatory programs of the human retina and ocular diseases.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (153 words)
Most genetic risk variants linked to ocular diseases are nonprotein coding and presumably contribute to disease through dysregulation of gene expression; however, understanding their mechanisms has been impeded by incomplete annotation of transcriptional regulatory elements across retinal cell types. To address this, we carried out single-cell multiomics assays to investigate gene expression, chromatin accessibility, DNA methylome, and three-dimensional (3D) chromatin architecture in human retina, macula, and retinal pigment epithelium/choroid. We identified 420,824 unique candidate regulatory elements and characterized their chromatin states in 23 retinal cell types. Comparative analysis of chromatin landscapes between human and mouse retina cells further revealed both evolutionarily conserved and divergent retinal gene-regulatory programs. Leveraging the advancements in deep-learning techniques, we developed sequence-based predictors to interpret noncoding risk variants of retinal diseases. Our study establishes retina-wide, single-cell transcriptome, epigenome, and 3D genome atlases and provides a resource for studying the gene regulatory programs of the human retina and ocular diseases.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42490430 · DOI · PMC13394472
Linking retinal sampling in neural encoding models to temporal profiles of visual processing in humans [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Retinotopic tuning of neural populations is a key organizing principle of human visual cortex.
- Closing excerpt
- We make our large-scale EEG dataset including high-resolution natural scene images publicly available to enable future research into naturalistic visual processing.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (275 words)
Retinotopic tuning of neural populations is a key organizing principle of human visual cortex. However, state-of-the-art models that predict neural recordings based on task-optimized Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) do not take this retinotopic organization into account. Furthermore, while retinotopic tuning in visual cortex has been studied extensively using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the temporal dynamics of processing information from distinct parts of the visual field are less well understood. Here, we reveal distinct temporal profiles for foveal and peripheral visual information processing by implementing multiple spatial sampling strategies on feature maps of CNNs into encoding models that predict human electroencephalography (EEG) responses. Using large, high-quality natural scene images, we show that processing of peripheral information precedes that of foveally sampled information. This temporal difference is best modeled when applying a differential spatial transform to CNN feature maps that is derived from empirical measurements of human retinal ganglion cells. We directly confirm this temporal difference experimentally by mutually exclusive stimulation of foveal and peripheral visual field regions. Last, we introduce a novel, data-driven method of recovering visual field information from neural data, highlighting and quantifying spatial, retinotopic information contained in temporally specific EEG recordings. Together, these results provide novel neural evidence for a temporal coarse-to-fine visual processing hierarchy in the processing of natural images that is directly linked to distinct spatial information sampling. Aligning the spatial sampling of humans and CNN encoding models not only improves predictions of neural responses but also demonstrates that EEG recordings contain a significant amount of temporally encoded retinotopic information. We make our large-scale EEG dataset including high-resolution natural scene images publicly available to enable future research into naturalistic visual processing.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42378260 · DOI · PMC13340806
Effect of chronic high-altitude hypoxia on retinal vascular phenotype, choroidal and retinal vasoreactivity in Peruvian highlanders [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- High-altitude chronic hypoxia can induce excessive erythrocytosis (EE, defined as a haemoglobin concentration of ≥21 g/dL in men), leading to hyperviscosity and promoting endothelial dysfunction.
- Closing excerpt
- These findings suggest a retinal vascular dysfunction in highlanders, probably induced by chronic exposure to severe hypoxia.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (276 words)
High-altitude chronic hypoxia can induce excessive erythrocytosis (EE, defined as a haemoglobin concentration of ≥21 g/dL in men), leading to hyperviscosity and promoting endothelial dysfunction. We aimed to assess whether EE affects the retinal vascular phenotype and the ophthalmological vascular response to CO2. We conducted an ophthalmological cross-sectional study among highlanders permanently living at 5100 m (La Rinconada, Peru). The central retinal artery equivalent (CRAE), central retinal vein equivalent (CRVE) and retinal vessel tortuosity were measured using semi-automatic imaging software (VAMPIRE) from the diameters of the six largest arteries and veins on fundus images. Choroidal blood flow was assessed using laser Doppler flowmetry. Measurements were performed at rest and during a hypercapnic challenge (+10.1 ± 1.4 mmHg end-tidal CO2). Among the 62 included highlanders, 38 (61%) had EE. Compared with non-EE, highlanders with EE exhibited higher CRVE (278 ± 25 vs. 249 ± 24 µm, P < 0.001), with no other significant ophthalmological differences. Resting CRVE was significantly correlated (all P-values < 0.001) with haematocrit (r = 0.56), haemoglobin concentration (r = 0.65), blood volume (r = 0.55) and the arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (r = 0.46). Hypercapnia led to a moderate overall decrease in CRVE (-8.6 ± 22.0 µm, P = 0.02), without a specific effect of EE, and induced no other retinal vascular or choroidal blood flow changes in either group. We observed larger retinal vein diameters in EE highlanders compared with non-EE. Although hypercapnia is known to increase retinal vessel diameter in healthy lowlanders, it selectively decreased CRVE in highlanders, irrespective of EE status. These findings suggest a retinal vascular dysfunction in highlanders, probably induced by chronic exposure to severe hypoxia.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42603100 · DOI · PMC13476870
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Retinal layer segmentation in multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis [4]
- Research article Is sunlight exposure a risk factor for age-related macular degeneration? A systematic review and meta-analysis [5]
- Research article Genome-wide association identifies ATOH7 as a major gene determining human optic disc size [6]
- Research article Retinal ganglion cell analysis in multiple sclerosis and optic neuritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis [7]
- Research article Retinal layers in Parkinson's disease: A meta-analysis of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography studies [8]
- Research article Intravitreal anti-VEGF injections for treating wet age-related macular degeneration: a systematic review and meta-analysis [9]
References
- Yuan Y, Biswas P, Zemke NR, Dang K, Wu Y, D'Antonio M, et al.. Single-cell analysis of the epigenome and 3D chromatin architecture in the human retina. . 2026. PMID 42490430 · DOI · PMC13394472
- Müller N, Chen H, Wahlberg S, Scholte HS, Groen IIA. Linking retinal sampling in neural encoding models to temporal profiles of visual processing in humans. . 2026. PMID 42378260 · DOI · PMC13340806
- Paillisser A, Brugniaux JV, Berquet F, De Abreu J, Hogg S, Trucco E, et al.. Effect of chronic high-altitude hypoxia on retinal vascular phenotype, choroidal and retinal vasoreactivity in Peruvian highlanders. . 2026. PMID 42603100 · DOI · PMC13476870
- Petzold A, Balcer LJ, Calabresi PA, Costello F, Frohman TC, Frohman EM, et al.. Retinal layer segmentation in multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Neurol. 2017. PMID 28920886 · DOI
- Sui GY, Liu GC, Liu GY, Gao YY, Deng Y, Wang WY, et al.. Is sunlight exposure a risk factor for age-related macular degeneration? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Ophthalmol. 2013. PMID 23143904 · DOI
- Macgregor S, Hewitt AW, Hysi PG, Ruddle JB, Medland SE, Henders AK, et al.. Genome-wide association identifies ATOH7 as a major gene determining human optic disc size. Hum Mol Genet. 2010. PMID 20395239 · DOI · PMC2883339
- Britze J, Pihl-Jensen G, Frederiksen JL. Retinal ganglion cell analysis in multiple sclerosis and optic neuritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Neurol. 2017. PMID 28567539 · DOI
- Chrysou A, Jansonius NM, van Laar T. Retinal layers in Parkinson's disease: A meta-analysis of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography studies. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2019. PMID 31054866 · DOI
- Ba J, Peng RS, Xu D, Li YH, Shi H, Wang Q, et al.. Intravitreal anti-VEGF injections for treating wet age-related macular degeneration: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Drug Des Devel Ther. 2015. PMID 26451092 · DOI · PMC4592052
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-10-31; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-10-31.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.