Diabetic retinopathy is the name given to the damage diabetes does to the retina.
The retina is the microscopically thin and transparent membrane that lines the inside back wall of the eye. Light that enters the eye is focused upon the retina where it is converted to electrical signals which are processed and eventually transmitted by the optic nerve to the brain. Click the icon to see a photograph of a normal retina. Diabetes damages the blood vessels within the retina. With accumulating damage, the blood vessels form tiny blisters in their walls.