Plain English Meaning
The tiny spot at the back of your eye that gives you sharp, focused, color vision when you look directly at something.
Full Definition
A small, specialized area near the center of the retina that contains a high concentration of cone cells and is responsible for sharp, detailed central vision and color perception in daylight conditions.
Context Anchor
Seen in night vision discussions about how the eye sees in low light and why pilots use off-center viewing at night.
Derivation
From Latin macula, meaning 'spot' or 'mark.' The name simply describes what early anatomists saw: a small spot on the retina that looked different from the surrounding tissue.