Macrophages are the main infiltrating immune cells in choroidal neovascularization (CNV), a hallmark of the human wet, or neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Due to their plasticity and ability to adapt to the local microenvironment in a tissue-dependent manner, macrophages display polar functional phenotypes characterized by their cell surface markers and their cytokine profiles. We found accumulation of hemoglobin-scavenging cluster of differentiation 163 (CD163)(+) macrophages in laser-induced CNV lesions and higher expression of CD163(+) monocytes in the peripheral blood on day 7 post injury in mice. In comparison, CD80(+) macrophages did not differ with laser-injury in young or aged mice and did not significantly change in the peripheral blood of CNV mice. We examined the percentages of CD163(+), CD206(+), and CD80(+) monocytes in the peripheral blood of patients with wet AMD, patients with dry AMD, and in age-matched individuals without AMD as controls. Percentages of peripheral blood CD163(+) monocytes in both dry AMD (P