Structure of the Eye

Prepared by :-
Dr. Jonali Devi
Prof. & Head, VPB
 General description of the eye:

Eye ball is made up of 2 segments:

• A. Anterior part: small and transparent, called
cornea. 1/6th
• B. Posterior part: larger and opaque white,
called sclera. 5/6th
(this portion is lined by retina-light sensitive
structure)
• Junction between cornea and sclera is called
limbus (sclero-corneal junction)
• The center of anterior
curvature of the eyeball Is
called the anterior pole
• Center of the posterior
curvature is called the
posterior pole.
• The line joining the two
poles are called optical
axis.
The line joining a point of cornea little medial to
anterior pole and the fovea centralis situated
lateral to posterior pole is called visual axis.

The light rays pass through the visual axis of

eye ball.

The optic nerve leaves the eye , little medial to

the posterior pole.
 Orbital cavity
• Except the anterior 1/6th the eyeball is
situated inside a bony cavity
• Known as orbital cavity/eye socket.
• A thick layer of areolar tissue is interposed
between the bone and the eye, which serve as
a cushion.
• Eyeball is attached to orbital cavity by ocular
muscles.
The Bony Orbit
 Eyelids
• Eyelids protect the eyeball from foreign particles and
cut off the light during sleep.
• The eyelids can be closed voluntarily and reflexly.
• The margin of eyelids have sensitive hairs called cilia.
• Each cilia have a follicle, which is surrounded by a
sensory nerve plexus, which is activated when dust
particles comes in contact with cilia.
• The opening between the two eyelids is called
palpebral fissure
• Upper and lower eyelids contains numerous tarsal
gland which moisten the cornea by its waxy like
secretion
 Conjunctiva
• Thin mucus membrane which covers the
exposed part of the eye- palpebral portion.

• After covering the anterior surface conjunctiva

is reflected into the inner surface of the
eyeball called bulbar portion

• Two portions are separated by fornix

 Lacrimal gland
• Is situated in the shelter of bone, forming the
upper and outer border of wall of the eye
socket.
• Tear flows over the surface of conjunctiva and
drains into nose via lacrimal ducts, lacrimal
sac and naso-lacrimal duct.
The Lacrimal System -- Tears
Wall of the eyeball

3 layers:

• Outer layer: cornea and sclera

• Middle layer: choroid, ciliary body and
iris
• Inner layer: retina
Outer layer/ fibrous layer/tunica fibrosa
1. Sclera: white fibrous layer and elastic tissue.
the part where it is pierced by the optic nerve is
thin with perforation, called lamina cribrosa

2. Cornea: is transperant. Formed by 5 layers:

i) layer of stratified epithelium
ii) Bowman’s membrane
iii) Substancia proper
iv) Descemet’s layer
v) layer of endothelial cells
 Middle/tunica vasculosa
• It completely surround eyeball except a small
opening in front is known as pupil.
• This layer comprises (from behind):-
 Choroid
 Ciliary body
 Iris
 Choroid
• Forms posterior 5/6
• Separated from sclera by perichoroidal space
• Anteriorly the space is limited by the insertion
of ciliary muscle into the sclera.
• Posteriorly, ends at the short distance from
the optic nerve.
• Inner surface is related with the pigment
epitehlium (tapetum- greenish blue pigment)
of retina.
• Highly vascular : Numerous capillary pelxus,
small arteries and veins present in choroid.
 Ciliary body
• This is in the form of a ring
• Outer surface is separated from the sclera by
perichoroidal space.
• The inner surface is faces the vitreous body
and lens
• The suspensory ligament from the lens are
attached to ciliary body.
• The anterior surface faces towards the center
of cornea
• From the surface iris arises
 Iris
• Anterior most part of vascular coat
• Thin circular diaphragm, placed in front of the
lens.
• Circular opening in the center called pupil.
• Iris separates the space between cornea and
lens into 2 chambers: anterior and posterior
chambers.
• Both are communicated with each other
through pupil
Inner layer / tunica interna / tunica nervosa/
retina
• Retina extend from margin of optic disc to just behind the
ciliary body..
• It has the receptors for vision
10 layers
• Layer of pigment epithelium
• Layer of rods and cones
• External limiting membrane
• Outer nuclear layer
• Outer plexiform layer
• Inner nuclear layer
• Inner plexiform layer
• Ganglion cell layer
• Layer of nerve fibers
• Internal limiting membrane
 Fundus oculi
• The posterior part of interior of the eyeball
Has two parts: 1. Optic disc & 2. macula lutea
1. Optic disc :
• situated near the center of the posterior wall of
eyeball. It appears as pale disc.
• Contains all the layers of retina except rodes and
cones, so it is insensitive to light, called as blind
spot, object is not seen if image is falls on it.
 Fundus oculi
2. Macula lutea:
yellow spot (yellow pigment) situated little lateral
to the optic disc.
Minute depression is there, called fovea centralis
in the center.
This the region of most acute vision, because it
contains only the cones.
The vision of rest of the retina is called peripheral
or extrafoveal vision, which are less sensitive
and enables to subject to gain only a dim and an
ill defined impression of surroundings.
 Intraocular fluid
• The fluid of the eyeball is responsible for the
maintenance of shape of eye. Two types:
1. vitrous fluid: in between lens and retina
-is a gelatenous substance
-formed by a fine fibrillar network of
proteoglycan molecules, various substances enter
inside it by diffusion.
2. Aqueous humor: between lens and cornea and
divide it into anterior and posterior chambers by
iris, both communicate through pupil
- a thin fluid
 Aqueous humor
• Composition: water: 98.7%
solids: 1.3%
Both organic and inorganic substances are there:
• Organic: albumin, globulin, glucose, pyruvate,
lactate, urea
• Inorganic: Na, Ca, Mg, K, Cl, PO4 and HCO3
Formed by diffusion and active transport
Functions: 1. resp. for shape
2. maintain intra-ocular pressure
3. provide nutrition to avascular
substance like lens and cornea.
 lens
• Is a crystalline in nature, it is biconvex,
transparent and possesses the elastic
property.

• Structure: 1. the capsule

2. The anterior epithelium
3. The lens substance
 Muscles of the eyeball
1. Intrinsic muscle: formed by smooth muscle fibers
and controlled by autonomic nerves
• Eg: Constrictor pupillae and dilator pupillae
2. Extrinsic muscle: are formed by skeletal musclea
and controlled by somatic nerves.
6 extrinsic muscles are there (attached to the
eyeball and orbital cavity):
• 4 Straight muscles: Superior rectus, Inferior
rectus, medial and internal rectus, lateral or
external rectus
• 2 oblique muscles: Superior oblique, inferior
oblique
 Nerve supply

• 1. oculomotor (III) nerve

• 2. Trochlear (IV) nerve
• 3. Abducent (VI) nerve
 Vision process
• image of an object is focused on retina
by Rods and cones (ch react)
• energy on visual spectrum is converted into
electric potential

• impulse from rodes and cones reach the

cerebral cortex through optic nerve

• sensation of vision is produced in cerebral

cortex.
• While looking at a object, the light rays from
the object are refracted and brought to a focus
upon retina.

• The image falls on the retina in an inverted

position and reversed side to side.

• Because of the role played by cerebral cortex,

the object is seen in an upright position.
 Neural basis of visual process
• The retina contains the light sensitive receptors
or photoreceptors: rods and cones
• 12 millions rodes and 6 million cones are present
in human eye.
Distribution varies:
• Fovea has only cones and no rods.
• While proceeding from fovea towards periphery
of retina, the rods increases and cones decreases
in number.
• At the periphery of retina only the rods are
present and the cones are absent
Structure of rodes and cones
 Functions
Rodes Cones
1. Rodes are extremely sensitive to 1. Cones have high threshold for
light and have a low threshold light stimulus
2. The rodes are responsible for 2. The cones are sensitive to bright
dim light vision or night vision or light. It is called receptors of day
scotopic vision. light vision or photopic vision or
bright light vision
3. It is not responsible for colour 3. Also responsible for colour
vision. The vision by rods is black vision. There are cone cells : blue,
and white or combination, ie grey green and red.
4. Mammals possess both cone 4. Retina of the birds having more
and rodes. Cat, mice, rat, duck and cone cells, sleep at dark and get
foxes has more rodes. Man having active at day time. Exception is owl
predominance of cone cells and a (retina having more rods and more
fair portion of rod cells active at night , inactive during day
 Mechanism of vision
• 1. light perception with different light intensity
• 2. Production of action potential and transmission
of nerve impulse to the brain for the information
of image.
• There is also colour perception
• Two types of cells present in the retina: rods and
cones
• Rods: scotopic (dim light/night vision)
• Cones: photopic (bright light/color vision)
• They contain visual pigments : rhodopsin (rodes)
and iodopsin (cones)
• Rod cells of man and most animals eyes contain a protein
called “opsin”/ scotopsin
• This protein binds with 11-cis retinal (oxidized form of
retinol or vit A aldehyde) to form visual pigment rhodopsin
which is present in the intracellular membrane of the rod
cells.
• When rhodopsin is excited by visible light, 11-cis-retinal
undergoes a number of very complex rapid molecular
changes and finally forms all-trans-retinal.
• This alteration which changes the geometrical
configuration of retinal are believed to accompany a change
in the entire rhodopsin molecule.
• This events produces in the optic nerve ending and impulse
that is transmitted to the brain.
• All-trans –retinal releases the protein opsin and forms 11-
cis-retinal, which binds again to opsin to reconstitute
rhodopsin
Eyes in dark

Na channel remains open

Leakage of Na into rods through open Na channel

Maintain the resting electrical membrane potential up

to -40 mV (constant, called as dark current)

But when photons of light strike the rhodopsin

pigment, the retinal (vit A aldehyde) is transformed
leading to the closure of sodium channel and
hyperpolarization of receptor cell membrane.
 Visual / optic pathways

• The retinal impulse is carried to visual center

in cerebral cortex by the nervous pathway is
called visual/optic pathway.
 The Optic Pathway
• Begins at the optic nerve : axons of the ganglionic cells
of retina make up the optic nerves.
• Impulses cross and partially split at the optic chiasma.
• After the chiasma, it becomes the optic tract.
• Lateral geniculate bodies (sensory relay stations in
thalamus)
• Some fibers go to the colliculus (located in the mid
brain)
• The other fibers fan out into the visual cortex which is
located at the top and back of the brain.
 Optic nerve: it leaves the eye through
optic disc

Optic chiasma: here the medial fibers of each

optic nerve cross the midline and joined the
uncrossed lateral fibers of opposite side to
form optic tract

Lat. Geniculate body: it forms the subcortical

center for visual sensation along with optic
tract act as a relay center of visual pathway

Some fibers go to the

colliculus (located in
the mid brain)

Visual cortex: primary cortical center for

vision is called visual cortex, located in the
medial surface of occipital bone
 Dark adaptation
When entered in dim light area from bright light
area
Cannot see any object for sometime
Dark adaptation (max. duration= 20 minutes)
Causes:
1. Increased sensitivity of rods as a result of synthesis
of rhodopsin: bright light much of these pigments
broken down, dim light it takes some time to
regeneration of rhodopsin
2. Dilatation of the pupil: allow more and more light
to enter the eye.
 Light adaptation
When entered in bright light area from dim light
area
Feels discomfort due to dizziness effect
light adaptation (max. duration= 5 minutes)
Causes:
1. Reduced sensitivity of rods : bright light, sensitivity
of rods decreases. This is due to breakdown of
rhodopsin
2. Constriction of the pupil: reduces quantity of light
rays entering the eye.
 Night blindness/ Nyctalopia
• Defective dim light (scotopic) vision
• Defined as the loss of vision when light in the
environment becomes dim

Causes: Lack of vitamin A (diet, decreased

absorption in the intestine)

Treatment: Vitamin A suppl.

 Errors of Refraction
• Normal eye: Emmetropia
• Any deviation from normal: Ametropia
1. Myopia
2. Hypermetropia
1. Myopia: short sightness ; near vision is normal but
far point is not infinite
2. Hypermetropia: far sightness; the distance vision is
normal, near vision is affected
• Myopia:
anteroposterior
diameter of the
eyeball is abnormally
long, so image forms
in front of retina
• Hypermetropia:
reduced
anteroposterior
diameter, light rays
focus behind retina, so
blurred image of near
object.
• Occur in childhood, if
the eyeball is fail to
developed to the
correct size
• Old age: occur due to
absorption of water
 Astigmatism (A=Not ; Stigma=point)

• Common optical defect. The light rays are not

brought to a sharp point upon retina.
• Eg: star appear as small dots
to a person with normal
eyesight
In this cond. Star is seen
as radiating short lines of rays
• Vit A is required for both rod and cone functions
• In birds, coloured oil droplets found in cones, may
play a part in cone function
• There are 4 spectral classes of cones in the retinas
of a number of birds. One class is responsible for
short wavelengths (ultraviolet)
• In cat, amino acid taurine is necessary for the
photoreceptor cell function and viability.
• The record of gross electrical activity
(potential changes) of the retina is called
electroretinogram (ERG).
• The ERG can be elicited from mammals and
birds by a flash of light.
•Humans, primates, insects, fish, some reptiles, and
most birds can see color well.
•The eyes of albino animals appear pink or red because
light reflects off the blood vessels in the back of the eye.
•An animal may have irises of two different colors. This
condition is called heterochromia.
•A cataract is a condition in which the components of the
lens break down and it becomes cloudy.
•Most animals have a reflective layer in the choroid
called the "tapetum lucidum." This is what causes their
eyes to shine in the dark.
THANKS