area centralis

noun

area cen·​tra·​lis -sen-ˈtra-ləs 

-ˈträ-,

-ˈtrā-

anatomy

1

: macula lutea

Light from the very center of the visual field, the area of space that we "are looking at," projects onto the area centralis or macula.

—Peggy Mason, Medical Neurobiology, 2011

2

: a small region near the center of the retina of various vertebrates that is highly concentrated with cones and rods, plays an important role in visual acuity, and is analogous to the macula lutea

The area of maximal visual acuity and highest cone density in the retina of the horse is the area centralis.

—Dennis Eugene Brooks, Ophthalmology for the Equine Practitioner, 2002

By contrast, dogs have what is called an area centralis: a broad central region with fewer receptors than a fovea, but more than in peripheral parts of the eye.

—Alexandra Horowitz, Inside of a Dog, 2009

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, literally, "central area"

First Known Use

1862, in the meaning defined above

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