the eye and visual defects Flashcards
what is the lens?
it is a transparent structure that is suspended by ligaments attached to the ciliary muscles
what are the ligaments suspending the lens called?
zonule fibres
what do the ciliary muscles do?
they control the shape of the lens
what is the vitreous humour?
it is a viscous jelly like substance that lies between the lens and the retina and keeps the eye spherical
what happens at the retina?
it is where the light is transformed into neural activity and therefore it is part of the CNS
what is the fovea?
it is the pit - it is the point of highest visual acuity where the light can reach the photoreceptors directly
how does image formation by the eye occur?
through refraction from the cornea, lens and lens accommodation by the ciliary muscles
what is refraction?
it is the bending of light rays when light passes from one transparent media to another such as the air to the cornea. It occurs as light is slowed down as it changes from one media to another and will bend towards or away from a line that is perpendicular to the border between the medial boundary
what happens as light passes through the cornea?
light rays that strike the curved surface of the cornea bend so that they converge on the back of the eye
light rays that enter the centre of the eye pass straight to the retina
how much of refraction is done by the lens?
the majority required is done by the cornea however some is also done by the lens when light passes through it in order to produce a sharp image
what is the refraction of both structures good for?
if the image is a far distance away as the light rays will strike the cornea parallel to eachother
what happens if there is a closer image?
greater refractive power is required to bring them into focus
what carries out focusing?
the lens changing shape - done by the ciliary muscles - accommodation
what is an emmetropic eye?
it is a normal eye that should focus parallel light rays onto the retina without the need for accommodation
how does accommodation occur?
the contraction of the ciliary muscles changes the shape of the lens - this relieves the tension on the zonule fibres so the lens becomes rounder due to its natural elasticity
what is the relationship between distance and power?
the refractive power (diopters) = 1/focal distance
what is the focal distance?
the distance from the cornea to the retina
what is hyperopia?
far sightedness - when the eyeball is too short from the front to the back and therefore the light rays are focused at some point behind the retina - the retina therefore sees a blurry circle
accommodation of the lens is needed for distant objects and near cannot be brought into focus
how can hyperopia be corrected?
a convex lens is placed infront of the eye and will provide the necessary refraction to allow near objects to be brought into focus
what is myopia?
near sightedness - when the eyeball is too long from front top back and parallel light rays converge at some point before the retina - as a result the retina sees an unfocused blurry circle
how can myopia be corrected?
concave lens is places in front of the eye and will provide the necessary refraction to allow distant objects to be brought into focus on the retinal surface
is there any surgery available for myopia or hyperopia?
there is corrective laser surgery called photorefractive keratectomy which uses a laser to reshape the cornea and decrease or increase the amount of refraction possible
on the opthalamic view of the retina what structures are seen?
the macula - the central vision
the fovea - the central or thinner region of the retina
the optic disk - the origin of the blood vessels, where the optic nerve axons exit the eye through the blind spot
what are the divisions of the retina on opthalamic view?
the temporal - anterior and the nasal - posterior retina
how does light travel through the eye to the photoreceptors at the back?
the light is focused by the cornea and the lens and then passes through the vitreous humour to the retina. The retina lies in front of the pigment epithelium that lines the back of the eye, light passes through all the retinal cells to reach the photoreceptors at the back of the retina
what is melanin?
it is a black pigment that is found in the cells of the pigment epithelium that absorbs any light that is not absorbed by the retina
what is the structure of the retina?
anterior to posterior
there is the ganglion cell layer - a thick layer
then the inner plexiform layer (thin) and the inner nuclear layer (medium)
then there is the outer plexiform layer (thin) and outer nuclear layer (thick)
then a thin layer of photoreceptor outer segments and then the pigment epithelium
there are retinal biploar cells that extend into the inner plexiform layer, what are these?
the retinal bipolar cells come in two types - this is based on how they respond to light
there are ON bipolar cells - depolarise in response to light onset
OFF bipolar cells that hyperpolarise in response to light onset
what are the structures of rods and cones?
they have an outer and inner segment and a synaptic terminal
the outer is one end and is longer in the rod cells
then inner is the middle section which is similar lengths in both cells
the synpatic terminals are small at the other end of the cells
what are the differences between the rod and the cone system?
the cones are high acuity, concentrated in the fovea and have a dispersed pathway. They are trichromatic. Rods are low acuity and not present in the fovea and they have a highly convergent pathway. They are achromatic
what is meant by tri and achromatic?
tri means that there are three types of cone pigment - each with different wavelength preference
achromatic means that there is one type of rod pigment
what are the characteristics of cone cells?
they have lower amplification, higher temporal resolution with a faster response, more sensitive to direct light rays, less photopigments and lower sensitivity as they are specialised to day vision
what are the characteristics of rod cells?
they have higher sensitivity to light and are specialised for night vision, they have more photopigments to capture more light, they have higher amplification, they have lower temporal resolution with a slower response and they are more sensitive to scattered light
what is the standard polarisation and where does it drop to during hyperpolarisation in phototransduction?
-30mV to -60mV
what is the basis of phototransduction?
in the dark, photoreceptors are depolarised and will continuously release glutamate. The light will cause the depolarising ion channels to close and hyperpolarise the membrane potential therefore causing the glutamate release to reduce. The photopigmemnts include rhodopsin
what is the structure of rhodopsin?
there are transmembrane domains of opsin and a C and N terminus. There is retinal in the middle. It is a form of vitamine A - we can make retinal from alpha or beta carotene
what is the molecular basis of phototransduction?
1 photon is absorbed by 1 opsin, this makes 800 transducin molecules meaning that 800 PDE enzymes are made. This will make 4800 cGMP be converted into GMP and this will close 200 cGMP sensitive ion channels which causes hyperpolarisation and a decrease in glutamate release