Task 2 - The retina Flashcards
Electromagnetic spectrum
is a continuum of electromagnetic energy that is produced by electric charges and is radiated as waves
Wavelength
the distance between the peaks of the electromagnetic waves – a.k.a. the energy in the electromagnetic spectrum
Visible light
the energy within the electromagnetic spectrum that humans can perceive
Cornea
the transparent covering of the front of the eye – it accounts for about 80 percent of the eye’s focusing power, but like the lenses in eyeglasses, it is fixed in place so can’t adjust its focus
Lens
supplies the remaining 20 percent of the eye’s focusing power, can change its shape to adjust the eye’s focus for objects located at different distances
Accommodation
the change in the lens’s shape that occurs when the ciliary muscles at the front of the eye tighten and increase the curvature of the lens so that it gets thicker
Near point
the distance at which your lens can no longer accommodate to bring close objects into focus
Presbyopia
(“old eye”) - The distance of the near point increases as a person gets older
Presbyopia
Two solutions to this problem:
- Hold reading material further away (about arm length)
- Wear reading glasses to replace the focusing power that can no longer be provided by the “Old,” poorly accommodating lens
Myopia
nearsightedness - an inability to see distant objects clearly
Two factors for the causes: (Myopia / nearsightedness)
- Refractive myopia - in which the cornea and/or the lens bends the light too much
- Axial myopia - in which the eyeball is too long
Solutions (Myopia)
- Move the object
- Corrective eyeglasses or contact lenses
- Laser surgery
Hyperopia
farsightedness - can see distant objects clearly but has trouble seeing nearby objects
–> In the hyperopic eye, the focus point for parallel rays of light is located behind the retina, usually because the eyeball is too short
Solutions (hyperopia)
corrective lenses that bring the focus point forward onto the retina
Transduction
the transformation of one form of energy into another form of energy
–> Occurs in the receptors for vision: the rods and cones
Visual pigments
have two parts:
- a long protein called opsin and
- a much smaller light sensitive component called retinal
Isomerization
the change of shape → When a visual pigment molecule absorbs one photon of light, the retinal changes its shape, from being bent, to straight
Dark adaptation
the process of increasing sensitivity in the dark
- Experiments have shown that rod receptors and cone receptors adapt to the dark at different rates and that these differences occur because of differences in their visual pigments
Fovea
small area that contains only cones
Peripheral retina
includes all of the retina outside the fovea, contains both rods and cones
Macular degeneration
Destroys the cone rich fovea and a small area that surrounds it — one cannot see what one is directly looking at