retina

[ret-n-uh, ret-nuh] /ˈrɛt n ə, ˈrɛt nə/

noun, plural retinas, retinae

[ret-n-ee] /ˈrɛt nˌi/ (Show IPA). Anatomy

the innermost coat of the posterior part of the eyeball that receives the image produced by the lens, is continuous with the optic nerve, and consists of several layers, one of which contains the rods and cones that are sensitive to light.

Trademark, Computers.

Retina, a brand name used by Apple, Inc., to describe display screens having a resolution so high that it is difficult to see individual pixels with the human eye:

a Retina display; Retina technology; Retina quality.

Origin

1350-1400; Middle English ret(h)ina < Medieval Latin rētina, perhaps equivalent to Latin rēt- (stem of rēte) net + -ina -ine¹

Retin-A

[ret-n-ey] /ˌrɛt nˈeɪ/

Pharmacology, Trademark.

a brand of tretinoin, used especially to reduce wrinkles caused by overexposure to the sun.

Origin

1975-80

Examples from the web for retina

The eyes may be windows to the soul, but the retina is the brain's window to the world.
Every human eye has a blind spot, and the retina is covered up by blood vessels and nerves.
What is consciously perceived is not a simple mapping of the images that fall on the retina.
Rods tell your brain that light is hitting your retina.
The tiny zebrafish had already impressed scientists with its ability to regenerate damaged spinal cord, retina and fin tissues.
Researchers have discovered a gene mutation that controls photoreceptors in the retina.
Anyway, they not only fingerprinted her but gave her a retina scan.
As is common with this disease, part of an inner layer of her retina had survived.
The ability to see colors comes from specialized light-sensing cells found in the retina.
retinal detachment repair is eye surgery to place a detached retina back into its normal position.

British Dictionary definitions for retina

retina

/ˈrɛtɪnə/

noun (pl) -nas, -nae (-ˌniː)

the light-sensitive membrane forming the inner lining of the posterior wall of the eyeball, composed largely of a specialized terminal expansion of the optic nerve. Images focused here by the lens of the eye are transmitted to the brain as nerve impulses

Derived Forms

retinal, adjective

Word Origin

C14: from Medieval Latin, perhaps from Latin rēte net

Word Origin and History for retina

late 14c., from Medieval Latin retina "the retina," probably from Vulgar Latin (tunica) *retina, literally "net-like tunic," on resemblance to the network of blood vessels at the back of the eye, and ultimately from Latin rete "net" (see reticulate (adj.)). The Vulgar Latin phrase might be Gerard of Cremona's 12c. translation of Arabic (tabaqa) shabakiyyah "netlike (layer)," itself probably a translation of Greek amphiblestroeides (khiton).

retina in Medicine

retina ret·i·na (rět'n-ə)
n. pl. ret·i·nas or ret·i·nae (rět'n-ē')
The delicate multilayered light-sensitive membrane lining the inner posterior chamber of the eyeball containing the rods and cones and connected by the optic nerve to the brain.

ret'i·nal adj.

retina in Science

retina

(rět'n-ə)
Plural retinas or retinae (rět'n-ē')
The light-sensitive membrane that lines the inside of the back of the eyeball and connects to the brain by the optic nerve. The retina of vertebrate animals contains rods and cones, specialized cells that absorb light.

retina in Culture

retina [(ret-n-uh)]

The inner layer of the eye, sensitive to light, that is connected to the brain by the optic nerve. The retina lines the rear of the eye-ball. The lens of the eye focuses waves of light on the retina.