Relating to or affecting the retina, the light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the eye that converts light into neural signals.
From Medieval Latin 'retina,' meaning 'net-like,' from Latin 'rete' (net) + diminutive suffix '-ina.' The retina was named for its net-like appearance of blood vessels and neural connections visible to early anatomists.
The retina gets its name from its resemblance to a fishing net, which is poetically appropriate since it 'catches' light just as a net catches fish. This metaphor embedded in medical terminology shows how early scientists used familiar objects to understand and name the complex structures they discovered in the human body.
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