Cross-sectional photomicrographs of peripheral macular and foveal retina (H&E stain). A, Cross section of the retina and choroid, showing the layers of the retina (labeled). B, In the fovea, the inner cellular layers are laterally displaced, and there is an increased density of pigment in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Note that on the right edge of the image, the inner cellular layers are laterally displaced. This allows the incident light to fall directly on to the photoreceptors, avoiding the inner retinal layers, thereby reducing the potential for scattering of light. An additional characteristic of the foveal region is that there is increased density of pigment in the RPE.