The terms background diabetic retinopathy or nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy maybe used to describe this stage of the disease process. The formation of exudates, microaneurysms, and edema appear. This color image (Fig.1) of the retina shows the yellowish exudative material left from the edema (swelling). The mid phase (Fig2. and Fig. 3) of a fluorescein angiogram shows the microaneurysms. The late phase (Fig.4) of the flurescein angiogram (Typically 10 minutes from the time of injection) demonstrates the accumulation of fluid due to the leaking microaneurysms
