Retina lab Flashcards
what is parafovea ?
- outside the fovea
how is the retina positioned?
- the retina is positioned such that at the top of the image you have choroidal vasculature and the vitreous humour at the bottom
how does retina tissue look like in reality ?
- the tissue looks blue but in reality when we take histological sections of the human retina , it is transparent because it has to allow photons of light to transmit through without being reflected, we need those photons of light to reach the outer segment of photoreceptor cells where we have chromoproteins that will absorb the photons of light and turn that into electrical signal
how does light normally impinge on the retina ?
through the vitreous to the area where the outer segment of photoreceptors is located
what is structure of RPE?
- simple epithelium
- single monolayer of cells
- cuboidal
- apical processes
- have brown melanin granules - which absorbs photons of light that don’t get absorbed by outer segment of photoreceptors
- this prevents the photons of light interfering with vision
what do we have on the outer surface of RPE?
capillaries- provide oxygen and nutrient supply to localised tissue , melanocytes and the RPE
- oxygen and nutrients can also diffuse through the RPE cells and released into the interphotoreceptor matrix - which is the space between the outer segments and then go feed the outer five layers of the retina
what do we have between the RPE and the capillaries ?
bruch’s membrane
what does the inner segment of photoreceptor contain ?
- rods and cones
- high density of mitochondria
- endoplasmic reticulum
- golgi apparatus
what does the outer segment of photoreceptor contain?
- membranous discs which contain chromoproteins - which absorb the photons of light
what are the dark blue dots ?
- nuclei of photoreceptor cells - stained with blue stains
what is the outer nuclear layer ?
- contains the nuclei pf photoreceptors
what is the outer plexiform layer ?
- where the processes of photoreceptors are located going up to a pedicule which is the synaptic region of cone and a spherical which is the synaptic region of rod
what are the muller cells ?
- one of the main glial cells
- soma in the inner nuclear layer and sends processes which run to furthest extent of the retina
what is the outer/external limiting membrane?
- where the muller cells interact directly with the photoreceptors at the external layer of the outer nuclear layer
- you get tight junctions forming between the muller cells processes and the the base of the inner segment of photoreceptor cells
- we get this membrane because we need to keep the environment of the interphotoreceptor matrix different from within the retina
- we need to control the amount of water and ions in the retina
what is the inner nuclear layer ?
- muller cells
- bipolar cell - span the entire depth of the inner nuclear layer and part of the outer plexiform layer is the point at which you have synaptic connections between photoreceptor cells and bipolar cells
- amacrine cells ( 49 types)
- horizontal cells
- interplexiform neurons
what are bipolar cells?
- bipolar cell - span the entire depth of the inner nuclear layer and part of the outer plexiform layer is the point at which you have synaptic connections between photoreceptor cells and bipolar cells
- send projections into the inner plexiform layer
- ## then they synapse with cells in the ganglion cell layer