By Ishita Dang

L-2: The Human Eye and the Colorful World

Do you remember – Reflection & Refraction 🧐
The Human Eye -> works on refraction of light
Surface View Side View
Cornea:

 The front transparent part of the eye bulging outwards through which light enters the eye
is called Cornea.
 The function of eye lens is to change the shape and thickness so that light gets focused
on the retina.
 It acts as a planoconvex lens which converges light rays falling on it.
Iris:

• Iris (coloured diaphragm) is a flat, ringed-shaped membrane behind the cornea of the
eyes which gives colour to the eyes.
Pupil:

 Pupil is a hole in the middle of iris which appears black because no light is reflected
from it.
 The job of the pupil in the eye is to expand or contract depending on the intensity of the
light around the eye.
Brain Buster-1: How does iris protects our eyes from the glare of bright lights?
Brain Buster-1: How does iris protects our eyes from the glare of bright lights?

 Ans) The iris controls the amount of light entering our eyes by automatically adjusting
the size of pupil according to the intensity of light received by the eye.
 Large Light (Day Time) -> Iris contracts the pupil making it smaller.
 Small Light (Night Time) -> Iris relaxes/expands the pupil making it bigger.
 Therefore, the iris protects our eyes from the glare of bright light by reducing pupil size
so that less light can enter.
Brain Buster-2: Give Reason -> When we go from a bright light to a darkened
cinema hall, at first we cannot see our surroundings clearly.
Brain Buster-2: Give Reason -> When we go from a bright light to a darkened
cinema hall, at first we cannot see our surroundings clearly.

 Ans) The adjustment of the size of pupil takes time.

 So, it takes time for pupil to expand and see things clearly.
Eye-Lens/Crystalline Lens:

 The Eye-Lens is a convex lens made up of transparent, soft and flexible (to focus light
on the retina) material like a jelly made of proteins.
 The Eye-lens and Cornea absorb most of the UV rays.
Ciliary Muscles:

 This lens is held in position by suspensory ligaments. One end of suspensory ligaments
is attached to the eye-lens and their other end is attached to ciliary muscles.
 The focal length of the eye-lens can be changed by contraction and relaxation of ciliary
muscles.
Retina:
 The screen of which the image (real and inverted) is formed in the eye is called Retina.
 Retina is a delicate membrane which has large number of light sensitive cells which
respond to the ‘intensity of light’ and ‘colour of objects’ by generating electric signals :-
a) Rods: These are rod-shaped cells sensitive to dim light. These cells do not provide any
information about the colour of the object.
b) Cones: These are cone-shaped cells sensitive to bright light. These cells respond to
colours. Usually, in a human, there are more number of cones than rods. This is why we
see better during the day than night.
Brain Buster-3: How do nocturnal animals (sleep during the day and come out
during the night) see during the night?
Brain Buster-3: How do nocturnal animals (sleep during the day and come out
during the night) see during the night?

• Ans) They have large number of rod cells on their retina which help them see properly
during night when there is not much light.
Brain Buster-4: Why don’t we see colour of cars on the road at night?
Brain Buster-4: Why don’t we see colour of cars on the road at night?

 Ans) The cones cause sensation of colour of objects in our eyes.

 But, they do not function in dim light.
 And rods do not provide any information about the colour of the objects.
Optic Nerve:

 The nerve that carries messages from the retina to the brain is called Optic Nerve.
 At the junction of optic nerve and retina, there are no light-sensitive cells due to which
no vision is possible at that spot. This is called Blind Spot.
Aqueous and Vitreous Humour:

 The space between cornea and eye-lens is filled with a watery liquid called Aqueous
Humour.
 The space between eye-lens and retina is filled with a transparent jelly like substance
called Vitreous Humour. As there are no blood vessels in the eye-ball, nutrients diffuse
into these liquids.
Please Note

• The diameter of eye-ball (spherical) is 2.5 cm.

Power of Accommodation of the eye-lens
Power of Accommodation of the eye-lens

 Power of accommodation is the ability of the eye lens to focus near and far objects
clearly on the retina by adjusting its focal length.
 The Power of accommodation of the eye of a person having normal eyesight is 4
Dioptres. The eye can change its power by 4 dioptres.
Case-1: An eye focussed on a distant object (at infinity)
Case-1: An eye focussed on a distant object (at infinity)

 Ciliary Muscles relax -> Suspensory Ligaments are pulled which become tight -> Eye-
lens becomes thin (less convex) -> Large focal length -> Less converging power
 The small converging power of thin lens is able to converge the parallel rays of light
coming from a distant object to form an image on the retina of the eye, which acts as the
focus.
 When the eye is looking at a distant object, it is said to be unaccommodated due to its
relaxed state.
Case-2: An eye focussed on nearby object
Case-2: An eye focussed on nearby object

 Ciliary Muscles contract -> Suspensory Ligaments are loose which stops pulling of the eye-
lens -> Eye-lens becomes thick (more convex) -> Small focal length -> More converging
power
 Since the converging power of eye-lens increases, the thick lens can converge the diverging
light rays coming from a nearby object to form an image on the retina, which acts as its
focus.
 When the eye-lens becomes more convex to focus the nearby objects, the eye is said to be
‘accommodated’.
Range of Vision of a Normal Human Eye

Near Point Far Point

Range of Vision of a Normal Human Eye

 The farthest point from the eye at which an object can be seen clearly is known as ‘Far
point of the eye.’ The far point of a normal human eye is at infinity.
 The nearest point/minimum distance from the eye at which an object can be seen clearly
without any strain is known as ‘Near point of the eye’ or ‘Least distance of distinct
vision.’ The near point of a normal human eye is at a distance of 25 cm from the eye.
 Therefore, the range of vision of a normal human eye is from infinity to about 25
centimetres.
Brain Buster-5: Why is a normal eye not able to see clearly the objects placed
closer than 25cm?

• Answer:
• A normal eye cannot see clearly the objects that are placed closer than 25cm because the
power of accommodation of the eye is 25cm which is exhausted. When the maximum
accommodation of the eye is reached, the ciliary muscles of the eye lens cannot become
more thick.
Why do we have 2 eyes for vision and not one?
Why do we have 2 eyes for vision and not one?

1. Wider field of view (Humans &

Predators)
 A human being has a horizontal field
of view of about 150 degrees with
one eye open.
 A human being has a horizontal field
of view of about 180 degrees with
two eyes open.
Why do we have 2 eyes for vision and not one?

1. Wider field of view (Humans & Predators)

 The widest possible field of view is given by animals having two eyes on their opposite
side of their head have the widest possible field of view.
a) Animals of Prey – Rabbit, Deer, Chicken, Fish (Use their wider field of view in a large
area around them and try to escape from them)
b) Domestic Animal – Horse
Why do we have 2 eyes for vision and not one?

Animals of prey Domestic Animals

Why do we have 2 eyes for vision and not one?
2. Enables us to judge distances accurately
 Our two eyes are a few centimetres apart from each other.
 Due to this, the two eyes see the same object from two slightly different angles and send
slightly different images to the brain.
 The brain combines these two slightly different images to build a three-dimensional (3D)
picture of the object.
 Hence, we have stereoscopic vision – It refers to the ability of human eyes to see the
surroundings through a three-dimensional view with two eyes.
The Gift of Vision

• We can give the gift of vision to the blind people after death. Eyes from a dead person
can enable two blind people to acquire vision.
 Donation of Eyes
 Eye donors can belong to any age group or sex. People who use spectacles, or those
operated for cataract, can still donate the eyes. People who are diabetic, have
hypertension, asthma patients and those without communicable diseases can also donate
eyes.
 Eyes must be removed within 4-6 hours after death. Inform the nearest eye bank
immediately. The eye bank team will remove the eyes at the home of the deceased or at a
hospital and will distribute it into hospitals.
 Eye removal takes only 10-15 minutes. It is a simple process and does not lead to any
disfigurement.
Donation of Eyes

 Persons who were infected with or died because of AIDS, Hepatitis B or C, rabies, acute
leukaemia (cancer of WBC), tetanus (disease in nervous system), cholera (diarrhoeal
infection), meningitis (inflammation of the tissues surrounding the brain and spinal
cord) or encephalitis (similar) cannot donate eyes.
 Those donated eyes which are not suitable for transplantation, are used for research and
teaching purposes in medical colleges.
Brain Buster-6: One pair of eyes give vision upto four corneal blind people.
Give reason.
Brain Buster-6: One pair of eyes give vision upto four corneal blind people.
Give reason.

• Ans)
 Corneal blindness :
 Any disorder in vision such as blindness due to disease cornea it is called Corneal
blindness. It is the fourth most common cause of blindness in whole world.
 We know that,
 Donated of one pair of eye have various components such as retina, cornea, muscles that
can be transplanted to the corneal blind people which help them to retain there vision.
Defects of Vision
What is Vision?

• Vision/Eyesight is the ability to see.

What are ‘Defects of Vision?’

• Sometimes, the eye of a person cannot focus the image of an object on the retina properly.
As a result, the vision of a person becomes blurred and he/she cannot see either distant or
nearby objects clearly. The person is said to have defect of vision.
1. Myopia
 1. Myopia
• Define

 Myopia (short-sightedness or near-sightedness) is that defect of vision due to which a person can see the near
objects clearly but not the distant objects.
 The far point of myopic eye = less than infinity
• Causes

 High converging power/Shorter focal length of eye-lens

 Too long eye-ball
• Correction

 Myopia is corrected by using spectacles containing concave lenses which reduces the converging power of the eye-
lens.
 The concave lens used for correcting myopia should be of such a focal length that it produces virtual image of the
distant object at the far point of the myopic eye.
2. Hypermetropia
 2. Hypermetropia
• Define

 Hypermetropia (long-sightedness or far-sightedness) is that defect of vision due to which a person can see distant
objects clearly but not near objects.
 The near point of a hypermetropic eye is more than 25 centimetres away.
• Causes

 Low converging power/Large focal length of eye-lens

 Too short eye-ball
• Correction

 Hypermetropia is corrected by using spectacles containing convex lens which increase the converging power of
the eye-lens.
 The convex lens used for correcting hypermetropia should be of such a focal length that it forms a virtual image
of object, at whatever the near point of hypermetropic eye is.
 • Myopia and Hypermetropia are the two
most common defects of vision.
• These days, refractive defects of eye
PLEASE NOTE (myopia and hypermetropia) by using
contact lens or by undergoing surgical
procedures.
Brain Buster-7: What happens if the same person has both the defects of vision
– Myopia and Hypermetropia?

• Ans) That person can wear spectacles wearing bifocal lens in which upper part consists of
a concave lens (to correct myopia) and lower part consists of convex lens (to correct
hypermetropia) used for reading purposes.
3. Presbyopia
• Define

 Presbyopia (or old hypermetropia) is that defect of vision due to which an old age person
cannot see the nearby objects clearly due to loss of power of accommodation of the eye.
 The near point of a hypermetropic eye is much more than 25 centimetres away.
• Causes

• In OLD AGE,
 Ciliary muscles become weak.
 Eye-lens becomes inflexible.
• Correction

 (same as hypermetropia)
4. Cataract
• Define

 The medical condition in which lens of the eye of a person becomes progressively cloudy
resulting in blurry vision is called cataract.
 It comes usually in old age.
• Correction

 The vision of the person can be restored after getting surgery done on the eye having cataract.
 The opaque lens is removed from the eye of the person by surgical operation and a new
artificial lens is inserted in its place.
 Cataract cannot be corrected by any type of spectacle lenses.
Thank You