Certain diseases of the retina are diagnosed by circular profile analysis of retinal parameters, such as thickness. Retinal thickness around a user-defined circle on the retina is measured by three-dimensional optical coherence tomography or other ophthalmological techniques. Abnormally thin regions are identified by comparing a measured function of thickness vs. polar angle to a reference function of thickness vs. polar angle. A degree of abnormality is characterized by the ratio of the integral of the measured thickness function to the integral of the reference thickness function over the abnormally thin region, as specified by a range of polar angles.