138 diabetic retinopathy patients with good fluorescein angiograms of the macular areas were studied. Areas of capillary nonperfusion (CNP) were surrounded by other capillary abnormalities and were often based on a larger retinal vessel. A satistically highly significant anatomical relationship was found between CNP and neovascularization. In addition, the frequency of neovascularization increased with the increase in size of CNP.