Visual System Flashcards
Eye anatomy
Palpebral fissure Lateral canthus Medial canthus Iris Pupil Caruncle Limbus (border between cornea and sclera)
Lacrimal System
Tears – basal (constant), reflex and emotional (crying)
Afferent – cornea, cranial nerve V1 – ophthalmic trigeminal
Efferent – parasympathetic
Neurotransmitter - acetylcholine
Tears produced by lacrimal gland
The lacrimal gland is located within the orbit, Latero-superior to the globe.
Drain through the two puncta, openings on medial lid margin
Flow through superior and inferior canaliculi
Gather in tear sac
Exit tear sac through tear duct into nasal cavity
Tear Film
Maintains smooth cornea-air surface
Oxygen supply to Cornea – normal cornea has no blood vessels
Removal of debris (tear film and blinking)
Bactericide
Composed of three layers
Superficial lipid layer to reduce tear film evaporation - produced by a row of Meibomian Glands along the lid margins
Aqueous (water) tear film (tear gland)
Mucinous Layer corneal surface - maintains surface wetting
Conjunctiva
Thin, transparent tissue that covers the outer surface of the eye
It begins at the outer edge of the cornea, covers the visible part of the eye, and lines the inside of the eyelids
It is nourished by tiny blood vessels that are nearly invisible to the naked eye
Coat of the Eye
3 layers
Sclera - hard, fibrous and opaque - maintain shape - High water content
Choroid - pigmented and vascular - provide circulation
Retina - neurosensory tissue - convert light into electrical impulses
Cornea
5 layers
1 – Epithelium
2 – Bowman’s membrane
3 – Stroma – its regularity contributes towards transparency
4- Descemet’s membrane
5- Endothelium – pumps fluid out of corneal and prevents corneal oedema
The transparent, dome-shaped window covering the front of the eye.
Low water content
Powerful refracting surface, providing 2/3 of the eye’s focusing power. Like the crystal on a watch, it gives us a clear window to look through
Uvea
Vascular coat of eyeball and lies between the sclera and retina.
Composed of three parts – iris, ciliary body and choroid.
Intimately connected and a disease of one part also affects the other portions though not necessarily to the same degree.
Choroid
Lies between the retina and sclera. It is composed of layers of blood vessels that nourish the back of the eye.
Iris
Controls light levels inside the eye similar to the aperture on a camera.
Round opening in the centre is the pupil.
Embedded with tiny muscles that dilate (widen) and constrict (narrow) the pupil size.
Lens
Outer acellular capsule
Regular inner elongated cell fibres – transparency
May lose transparency with age – cataract
Transparency Regular structure Refractive Power 1/3 of the eye focusing power - higher refractive index than aqueous fluid and vitreous Accommodation Elasticity
Retina
Very thin layer of tissue that lines the inner part of the eye.
Responsible for capturing the light rays that enter the eye. Much like the film’s role in photography.
These light impulses are then sent to the brain for processing, via the optic nerve.
Optic Nerve
transmits electrical impulses from the retina to the brain
connects to the back of the eye near the macula
visible portion is called the optic disc
Optic Nerve: Blind Spot
Where the optic nerve meets the retina there are no light sensitive cells. It is a blind spot
Macula
Located roughly in the centre of the retina, temporal to the optic nerve
A small and highly sensitive part of the retina responsible for detailed central vision
The fovea is the very centre of the macula. The macula allows us to appreciate detail and perform tasks that require central vision such reading.
Fovea
Fovea is the most sensitive part of the retina
It has the highest concentration of cones, but a low concentration of rods
This is why stars out of the corner of your eye are brighter than when you look at them directly.
But only your fovea has the concentration of cones to perceive in detail.
Central vision
Detail day vision, colour vision – fovea has the highest concentration of cone photoreceptors
Reading, facial recognition
Assessed by visual acuity assessment
Loss of foveal vision – Poor visual acuity
Peripheral Vision
Shape, movement, night Vision
Navigation vision
Assessed by visual field assessment
Extensive loss of visual field – unable to navigate in environment, patient may need white stick even with perfect visual acuity
Retinal Structure
Outer layer
Photoreceptors (1st order neuron)
Detection of Light
Middle layer
Bipolar Cells (2nd order neuron)
Local signal processing to improve contrast sensitivity, regulate sensitivity
Inner layer
Retinal ganglion cells (3rd order neuron)
Transmission of signal from the eye to the brain
Visual processing - photoreceptors
Rods
Longer outer segment with photo-sensitive pigment
100 times more sensitive to light than cones
Slow response to light
Responsible for night vision (Scotopic Vision)
120 million rods
Cones
Less sensitive to light, but faster response
Responsible for day light fine vision and colour vision (Photopic Vision)
6 million cones
Photoreceptor distribution
Rod (scotopic) vision
Peripheral and night vision More photoreceptors, more pigment, higher spatial and temporal (time) summation
Recognizes motion
Cone (photopic) vision
Central and day vision
Recognizes colour and detail
Frequency Spectrum
Like a CCD camera the eye captures different colours through different photoreceptors:
S-Cones: Blue
M-Cones: Green
L- Cones: Red
Rods are used for night vision and spatial recognition and are not really sensitive to any particular colour
Colour Vision Deficiencies
Deuteranomaly also known as Daltonism is the most frequent form of colour blindness.
People with deuteranomaly are not completely colour blind but they don’t perceive the colour red.
Full colour blindness which occur only in a very small percentage of the population is called achromatopsia