Vision 1 Flashcards
Diagram of eye anatomy
Cornea
- Glassy transparent surface of the eye
- Continuous with the sclera (white part of the eye/wall of the eyeball)
Pupil
- The opening that lets light into the eye
- Surrounded by pigmented iris (gives eye its color, can alter size of pupil)
Lens
- Located behind the iris
- Suspended by ligaments called zonule fibers (connected to ciliary muscles)
Aqueous and vitreous humor
The lens divides the liquid in the eye into aqueous humor (behind cornea/in front of lens) and vitreous humor (behind lens, keeps eyeball spherical)
Labelled picture of retina
What is the retina?
The back of the eye, containing photoreceptors
Optic disk
- Where retinal vessels originate AND where optic nerve fibers exit
- No photoreceptors –> blind spot
Macula
- Yellowish region responsible for central vision
- Relatively lacks blood vessels
- Contains fovea
Fovea location
- Center of the retina
- Retinal surface closer to nose/medial relative to fovea is nasal
- Retinal surface closer to temple/lateral to the fovea is temporal
How is the retina specialized for high-acuity vision?
- Highest density of cone photoreceptors
- No blood vessels obscuring retinal surface
- Inner retinal layers pushed aside
What is the index of refraction (n) of air vs. water?
- Air: n=1
- Water: n=1.33
What is the index of refraction of all parts of the eye?
n > 1
Overview of refraction
- Ray of light moves through medium of lower n (e.g. air) to medium of higher n (e.g. water) –> ray of light bends closer towards the line, perpendicular to the surface between the two media
- The amount of bending is proportional to n (i.e. the greater the n, the greater the bending)
- The eye makes use of this to focus a vast amount of light through a small hole (pupil) onto a focused point on the retina
The greater the index of refraction (n), the ___ the bending
Greater
Indices of refraction for different part of the eye
- Cornea = 1.28
- Lens = 1.39
- Aqueous humor = 1.34
Refraction in lens vs. cornea
Although the lens has the highest n, the cornea contributes the most to light refraction because it is the first part of the eye that light hits (sharpest change in n)
Which part of the eye contributes most to light refraction?
The cornea
What is the purpose of the lens?
Accommodation: refractive changes bring light into focus on the retina by modulation of the shape of the lens
Accommodation of lens
- The fatter the lens, the more bending it accomplishes
- Light from a further object requires less bending to reach the retina because they are already very parallel
- Light from a closer object requires more bending to reach the retina because they are not as parallel
The fatter the lens, the ___ bending it accomplishes
More
Table of changes to eye with near and far objects
A near object requires ___ bending of light
More
A far object requires ___ bending of light
Less
Changes to the eye for near object
- Requires more bending of light
- To do this, you need a fat lens
- For this lens, you need loose ligaments/zonule fibers
- For those ligaments, you need contracted ciliary muscles
Changes to the eye for far object
- Requires less bending of light
- To do this, you need a thin lens
- For this lens, you need tight ligaments/zonule fibers
- For these ligaments, you need relaxed ciliary muscles
What is the result of contracting ciliary muscles?
Swelling of muscle decreases tension of zonule fibers (loosens them)
What is the result of relaxing ciliary muscles?
Relaxation increases tension of zonule fibers (tightens them)
Myopia
- Nearsighted
- Can’t see far object, which require less refraction
- Too much refraction
- You can get this problem if your eye is too long (horizontally)
- You need a concave lens to fix this (reduces refraction)
Hyperopia
- Farsighted
- Can’t see near objects, which require more refraction
- Too little refraction
- You can get this problem if your eye is too short (horizontally)
- You need a convex lens to fix this (increases refraction)
What type of lens would a person with myopia (nearsightedness) need?
Concave (reduces refraction)
What type of lens would a person with hyperopia (farsightedness) need?
Convex (increases refraction)
Diagram of layers of the retina
Describe the layers of the retina
- Topmost layer in picture is closest to center of the eye (“light enters backwards”)
- Direct pathway: Photoreceptors (outer nuclear layer) → bipolar cells (inner nuclear layer) → ganglion cells (ganglion cell layer)
- Horizontal cells (outer plexiform layer) get input from PRs and influence PRs + bipolar cells
- Amacrine cells (inner plexiform layer) get input from bipolar cells and influence bipolar + ganglion cells
Horizontal cells of retina
- Outer plexiform layer
- Get input from photoreceptors and influence PRs and bipolar cells
Amacrine cells of retina
- Inner plexiform layer
- Get input from bipolar cells and influence bipolar and ganglion cells
___ are the only light-sensitive cells in the retina (with one minor exception)
Photoreceptors
Exception are intrinsically-photosensitive retinal ganglion cells