Color blindness occurs when one or more types of cone cells in the retina are either missing or don’t function properly. The most common form is red-green colorblindness, where people have difficulty distinguishing between these colors.
There are several types:
- Deuteranopia: Green cone cells are missing
- Protanopia: Red cone cells are missing
- Tritanopia: Blue cone cells are missing (very rare)
Color blindness is typically genetic and more common in males because the genes for red and green cone cells are located on the X chromosome. When these cells are missing or damaged, the brain receives incomplete color information, resulting in limited color perception.