Retina Flashcards
How should the retina of a healthy subject look?
Healthy subject = transparent and looks purple-redish due to blood supply behind it.
How thick is the Retina?
The retina is a thin, transparent membrane having a purplish-red colour in living subjects. Its thickness varies from 0.56 mm near the optic disc to 0.1 mm at the ora serrata. It is thinnest at the centre of the fovea. The retina is continuous with the optic nerve posteriorly, and it extends forward to become the epithelium of the ciliary body and the iris.
Where & what is Bruch’s membrane?
Brunch’s membrane – between RPE and Vascular Choroid membrane. Bruch’s membrane is part of the choroid as it’s split into Bruch’s membrane and vascular membrane. Bruch’s membrane can be split into 5 layers – basement membrane (innermost layer; the retina sits on this) then there are 3 elastic layers and then have the basement membrane to the vascular layer of the choroid.
What’s the role of the retina?
Photochemical transduction occurs so that nerve impulses are created and transmitted along visual pathways to the brain for higher cortical processing.
Where is the retina firmly attached?
The retina is firmly attached at the margins of the optic disc and at its anterior termination at the ora serrata. It should be remembered that the retina extends more anteriorly on the medial side, so that the ora serrata lies closer to the limbus on that side. An approximate landmark on the outside of the eyeball is the point of insertion of the medial rectus muscle medially and the lateral rectus muscle laterally.
What is the ‘macula lutea’ and the ‘fovea centralis’?
At the centre of the posterior part of the retina is an oval, yellowish area, the macula lutea, which is the retinal area for the most distinct vision. It has a central depression, the fovea centralis
What is the ora-serrata?
The ora serrata is the serrated junction between the choroid and the ciliary body.
This junction marks the transition from the simple, non-photosensitive area of the ciliary body to the complex, multi-layered, photosensitive region of the retina.
What is Bruch’s membrane?
A structure comprising 5 layers, the most internal of which is the basement membrane of the RPE. The most external layer is the basement membrane of the choriocapillaris. The three middle layers can be thought of as elastic layers. Role is not fully understood.
What’s another name for the RPE/Pigmented Epithelial Cells?
Outer Pigmented Layer
What is the function of the RPE?
Function of the RPE
- Absorption of light (RPE stops return of light into the sensory layer of the retina)
– Turnover of the photoreceptor outer segments (rods and cones)
- Formation of rhodopsin and iodopisin by storing and releasing vitamin A (precursor)
Choroid removes debris and keeps photoreceptors clean. Age-Related Macular degeneration stops this occurring. Helps with turnover of photoreceptors outer segments debris.
Reason eyes don’t glow red when light comes in (due to light scattering) is that the RPE absorbs light and stops it scattering back into the eye.
Where does the RPE come from?
- Single layer of cells
- Comes from the outer layer of the optic cup (embryology)
- Extend forward from the margin of the optic nerve to the ora serrata
- From the ora serrata, the RPE continues as the pigmented layer of the ciliary epithelium
What are cells of the RPE like?
- Cells are narrow and columnar, and become flatter as you progress anteriorly into the eye
- Basal end rests on a basement membrane and is infolded
- Apical end has microvilli which project between the rods and cones
How thick are RPE layers & what sit in the grooves?
RPE layer is 1 cell thick throughout the retina. Babysits the photoreceptors. Within folds in RPE cells are the photoreceptors; sitting in the little grooves. RPE cells are hexagonal organized.
What organelles are in the RPE?
Certain organelles in the RPE; mitrochondria (synthesis; active transport happening). Have rough and smooth ER (endoplasmic reticulum), Golgi apparatus. These three structures together suggest the cell is packaging something and getting rid of something. If you put loads together, to stop things leaking between them you have tight junctions (apical, towards retina, and basal, towards choroid).
Top/Apical - Zona Occludens
Bottom/Basal - Zona Adherans
How are the RPE cells bound to each other?
Adjacent RPE cells are bound basally by zonula adherans (nearest sclera/choroid) and apically by zonula occludens (nearest vitreous/retina). Together these binding sites eliminate any intracellular space.
How many Cones are there?
6 - 7 million
How many Rods are there?
120 million mainly in the periphery
What do the outer segment of Cones look like?
Cones have a cone shape in the outer segment of the cells. In cones in the disc this is called iodopsin and live on the membranes of the lamaelle.
What do the outer segment of Rods look like?
Rods have a rod shaped outer segment of the cell. In Rods photopgiments live on the lamaelle membranes but is called rhodopsin.
What is Iodopsin and Rhodopsin?
In the outer segments of rods and cones are lamaelle (sheets). Cone lamaelle membrane are in contact with the outside of the cells whereas rod lamaelle is contained within the cell. These contain photopigments that start off the phototransduction pathway.
How are the outer segments of the photoreceptors connected to the inner segments?
The outer segments link to inner segments by little corridors that are ciliary which help connect the two segments together
What can the Inner Segments of the photoreceptors be split into?
The inner segment can be split into two halves/sections.
Sections closest to outer segment of the cell is called the Elipsoid. The section of the inner segment closest to the inner part of the eye is the Myoid/Hyoid.
What organelles are in the myoid and Elipsoid regions of the photoreceptors?
Myoid region = Golgi and ER (endoplasmic reticulum) heavy
Elipsoid = Mitrochondria heavy
What’s below the inner segment of photoreceptors?
The cell body;
Below the inner segment of the rods and cones are the cell body which is the control centre of the cell.
Where do the outer segments of photoreceptors sit?
In between the RPE
What is below the cell body of photoreceptors?
Below the cell body in the cone cells is the Cone Pedicle whereas in rod cells this is called the Rod Spherule
At the ends of pedicles and spherules all that happens is that there are pre-synaptic vesicles and a synaptic cleft tor each a post-synaptic vesicle in the next retinal layer.
What are the sections of photoreceptor cells from outer to innermost?
Outer –> Inner
- Iodopsin/Rhodopsin
- Outer Segment
- Inner Segment
- Cell Body
- Cone Pedicle/Rod Spherule
What do you know about Cone cells?
- Adapted for bright light and resolve fine details and colour vision.
- 6–7 million cones in the retina and their density is concentrated in the fovea,
- Discs containing iodopsin
- Discs within the cone head which is the outer segment
– Connecting stalk between outer segment and inner segment
- Inner segment contains mitochondria in the ellipsoid region of inner segment
- Inner segment contains golgi and ER in the myoid region of the inner segment
- Inner segment connects to the cell body containing the nucleus
– Cell body connects to the cone pedicle
What do you know about Rod cells?
- Approximately 120 million rods in the entire retina. There are no rods at the fovea and the number increases until the maximum density occurs in the juxtafoveal zone,
- Discs containing rhodopsin. These discs are made at the base of the outer segment and pushed up the rod. Once at the top they are phagocytosed by the RPE
– Connecting stalk between outer segment and inner segment
- Inner segment contains mitochondria in the ellipsoid region of inner segment
- Inner segment contains golgi and ER in the myoid region of the inner segment
- Inner segment connects to the cell body containing the nucleus
– Cell body connects to the rod spherule
The spherule and pedicle contain presynaptic vesicles which synapse with dendrites of the bipolar cell
What are the types of bipolar cells?
- Rod Bipolar Cells
- Flat Bipolar Cells
- Midget Bipolar Cells
How many ganglion cells do Rod Bipolar Cells synapse with?
Synapse several rod cells to 1-4 ganglion cells
How many ganglion cells do Flat Bipolar Cells synapse with?
Synapse many cone cells with many ganglion cells
How many ganglion cells do Midget Bipolar Cells synapse with?
Single cone to single ganglion
What do photoreceptor cells synapse with after starting a nerve impulse?
Bipolar cells or Horizontal
What do Bipolar Cells look like?
Have 2 poles; cell body in middle. At the top and bottom you have dendrites to allow for transmission to the next layer (ganglion cell layer)
How are bipolar cells organised?
All in a radial fashion (in a circle going from middle outwards).
What is the function of bipolar cells?
Function is to synapse with photoreceptors to 2 cell types; ganglion and amacrine cells; either one or both.
What do bipolar cells synapse with?
Dendrites of the BP cells synapse with pedicle or spherule of R+Cs
BP cells then synapse with ganglion and amacrine cells
What do Bipolar Cells synapse with on the inner side?
Ganglion Cells
What do Ganglion cells look like?
Resemble cells found in nervous system
Ganglion cells look similar to neurons. Called this because they’re found in the brain (eyes and optic nerve are extension of the central nervous system). Approaching innermost part of the retina at this point.
How many cells thick are ganglion cells?
In the periphery these are single cell thick , approaching around macular up to around 10 layers. At the fovea the ganglion cells disappear. Fovea is just cone cells.
Regarding Ganglion Cells, where are they myelinated and where are they unmyelinated?
Once at the axon of this cell, up until the optic disc are unmyelinated but once they pass through the optic disc they become myelinated at the lamina cribrosa (once they leave the globe)