Anatomy Of Retina

By KOMAL SHARMA
Assistant Professor
In optometry
 RPE
• The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), the
outermost retinal layer, is a single cell thick
and consists of pigmented hexagonal cells.
• These cells are columnar in the area of the
posterior pole and are even longer, narrower,
and more densely pigmented in the macular
area.
• The cells become larger and more cuboidal as
the layer nears the ora serrata.
 RPE
• the basal aspect of the cell is adjacent to the
choroid and the apical surface faces the neural
retina.
• The RPE cells contain numerous
melanosomes, pigment granules, that extend
from the apical area into the middle portion of
the cell.
• Pigment density differs in various parts of the
retina and in individual cells.
 RPE
• In the retina, melanin is densest in the RPE
cells located in the macula and at the equator.
• Other pigmented bodies, lipofuscin granules,
contain degradation products of phagocytosis,
which increase in number with age.
• The cell cytoplasm also contains smooth and
rough endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi
apparatus, mitochondria, and numerous
lysosomes.
 RPE
• The apical portion of an RPE cell consists of
microvilli that extend into the layer of
photoreceptors.
• However, no intercellular junctions connect
the RPE and photoreceptor cells.
• A potential space separates the epithelial cell
and the photoreceptor, is called subretinal
space.
 RPE
• Terminal bars consisting of zonula occludens
and zonula adherens join the RPE cells near
their apices.
• Desmosomes are present throughout the
layer, and gap junctions between the cells
allow for electrical coupling, providing a low-
resistance pathway for the passage of ions and
metabolites.
 Photoreceptor Cells
 Retinal Pigment Epithelium-Neuroretinal Interface:-
• Several factors are involved in maintaining the close
approximation between the photoreceptor cell layer and
the RPE layer.
• Passive forces, such as intraocular pressure (IOP),
osmotic pressure, fluid transport across the RPE, and
presence of the vitreous, help preserve the position of
the neural retina.
• Interdigitations between the RPE microvilli and the rod
and cone outer segments provide a physical closeness
between the two entities.
• The material that occupies the extracellular space
between the two layers likely provides adhesive forces.
 Photoreceptor Cells
• Composition Of Rods & Cones:-
 Outer Segment--The outer segment is made
up of a stack of membranous discs (600 to
1000 per rod) and is enclosed by the
plasmalemma of the cell.
 A connecting stalk, or cilium, extends from the
innermost disc, joining the outer segment
with the inner segment and acting as a
conduit between them.
 Photoreceptor Cells
 Inner Segment:-
 The inner segment contains cellular structures and can
be divided into two parts. The ellipsoid is nearer the
outer segment and contains the numerous
mitochondria necessary for the many energy-
dependent photoreceptor processes.
 The part closer to the cell body, which is sometimes
called the myoid, contains other cellular organelles,
such as the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi
apparatus; protein synthesis is concentrated in this
area. The term “myoid,” however, is derived from a
similar area in amphibians that contains a contractile
structure. The human myoid does not have contractile
properties.
 Photoreceptor Cells
 Outer Fiber, Cell Body, and Inner Fiber:-
 The outer fiber extends from the inner
segment to the cell body, the portion
containing the nucleus. The inner fiber is an
axonal process containing microtubules
and runs inward from the cell body, ending
in specialized synaptic terminals that
contain synaptic vesicles.
 BIPOLAR CELLS
• The bipolar cell is the second-order neuron in
the visual pathway.
• The nucleus of the bipolar cell is large and
contains minimal cell body cytoplasm.
• Its dendrite synapses with photoreceptor and
horizontal cells, and its axon synapses with
ganglion and amacrine cells.
• Glutamate is its neurotransmitter.
 BIPOLAR CELLS
• Bipolar cells relay information from
photoreceptors to horizontal, amacrine, and
ganglion cells and receive extensive
synaptic feedback from amacrine cells.
• Eleven types of bipolar cells have been
classified on the basis of morphology,
physiology, and dendritic contacts with
photoreceptors; all types except the rod
bipolar cell are associated with cones.
 Ganglion Cell
• The next cell in the visual pathway, the third-
order neuron, is the ganglion cell.
• Ganglion cells can be bipolar (e.g., a single
axon and a single dendrite) or multipolar (a
single axon and more than one dendrite).
• Ganglion cells have also been classified on the
basis of cell body size, branching
characteristics, termination of dendrites, and
the expanse of the dendritic tree.
 HORIZONTAL CELLS
• The horizontal cell transfers information in a horizontal
direction parallel to the retinal surface.
• It has one long process, or axon, and several short
dendrites with branching terminals; the
processes spread out parallel to the retinal
surface, and all terminate in the outer plexiform
Layer.
• Horizontal cells synapse with photoreceptors, bipolar
cells, and other horizontal cells.
• Horizontal cells are joined to each other by an
extensive network of gap junctions.
• One type of horizontal cell synapses only within a cone
pedicle in the special triad junction.
• Three types of horizontal cells have been
differentiated: HI, HII, and HIII.
 AMACRINE CELLS
• The amacrine cell has a large cell body, a lobulated
nucleus, and a single process with extensive branches
that extend into the inner plexiform layer.
• They can also be classified into four groups—narrow
field, small field, medium field, and large field.
• Most amacrine cells contain the inhibitory
neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) or
glycine, and have both presynaptic and postsynaptic
endings.
• Amacrine cells are joined to one another via gap
junctions.
 INTERPLEXIFORM NEURONS
• The interplexiform neuron has a large cell
body and is found among the layer of
amacrine cells.
• The processes extend into both synaptic layers
and convey information between these layers,
apparently providing feedback from inner to
outer retinal layers.
 NEUROGLIAL CELLS
• Müller Cells:-
• Müller cells are large neuroglial cells that extend
throughout much of the retina.
• There are 10 million Müller cells in the
mammalian retina.
• They play a supportive role, providing
structure.
• The apex of the Müller cell is in the
photoreceptor layer, whereas the basal aspect is
at the inner retinal surface.
 NEUROGLIAL CELLS
• Besides providing structure, the Müller cell
acts as a buffer by regulating the
concentration of potassium ions (K+).
• They help maintain the extracellular pH by
absorbing metabolic waste products.
• They recycle GABA and glutamate, removing
them from the extracellular space.
• Müller cells metabolize, synthesize, and store
Glycogen.
 NEUROGLIAL CELLS
• Microglial Cells and Astrocytes:-
• Microglial cells are wandering phagocytic cells
and might be found anywhere in the retina.
• Their number increases in response to tissue
inflammation and injury.
• Astrocytes are star-shaped fibrous cells found in
the inner retina, usually in the nerve fiber and
ganglion cell Layers.
• They may contribute to the internal limiting
membrane as well as perform some of the same
functions as the Müller cells.
 10 RETINAL LAYERS
1. Retinal pigment epithelium
2. Photoreceptor cell layer
3. External limiting membrane
4. Outer nuclear layer
5. Outer plexiform layer
6. Inner nuclear layer
7. Inner plexiform layer
8. Ganglion cell layer
9. Nerve fiber layer
10. Internal limiting membrane
 RETINAL LAYERS
 RETINAL PIGMENT EPITHELIUM:-
• There are 4 to 6 million RPE cells, and each cell
interacts with 30 to 40 photoreceptors.
 PHOTORECEPTOR LAYER:-
• The photoreceptor layer contains the outer and inner
segments of rods and cones.
 EXTERNAL LIMITING MEMBRANE:-
• The external limiting membrane (ELM, outer limiting
membrane) is not a true membrane but is actually
composed of zonula adherens junctions between
photoreceptor cells and between photoreceptors and
Müller cells at the level of the inner segments.
 RETINAL LAYERS
 OUTER NUCLEAR LAYER:-
• The outer nuclear layer (ONL) contains the rod and
cone cell bodies; the cone cell body and nucleus are
larger than those of the rod. Cone outer fibers are very
short, and therefore the cone nuclei lie in a single
layer close to the external limiting membrane.
 OUTER PLEXIFORM LAYER:-
• The outer plexiform layer (OPL; also outer synaptic
layer) has a wide external band composed of inner
fibers of rods and cones and a narrower inner band
consisting of synapses between photoreceptor cells
and cells from the inner nuclear layer.
• Rod spherules and cone pedicles synapse with bipolar
cell dendrites and horizontal cell processes in the OPL.
 RETINAL LAYERS
 INNER NUCLEAR LAYER:-
• The inner nuclear layer (INL) consists of the cell
bodies of horizontal cells, bipolar cells, amacrine
cells, interplexiform neurons, Müller cells, and
sometimes displaced ganglion cells
 INNER PLEXIFORM LAYER:-
• The inner plexiform layer (IPL; also inner synaptic
layer) consists of synaptic connections between
the axons of bipolar cells and dendrites of
ganglion cells.
 RETINAL LAYERS
 GANGLION CELL LAYER:-
• The ganglion cell layer is generally a single cell thick
except near the macula, where it might be 8 to 10 cells
thick, and at the temporal side of the optic disc,
where it is 2 cells thick.
 NERVE FIBER LAYER:-
• The nerve fiber layer (NFL; also stratum opticum)
consists of ganglion cell axons. Their course runs
parallel to the retinal surface; the fibers proceed to the
optic disc, turn at a right angle, and exit the eye
through the lamina cribrosa as the optic nerve.
• The fibers generally are unmyelinated within the
retina.
• The NFL is thickest at the margins of the optic disc,
where all the fibers accumulate.
 RETINAL LAYERS
 INTERNAL LIMITING MEMBRANE:-
• The internal limiting membrane (inner limiting
membrane) forms the innermost boundary of the
retina.
• The outer retinal surface of this membrane is
uneven and is composed of extensive, expanded
terminations of Müller cells (often called
footplates) covered by a basement membrane.
• The inner or vitreal surface is smooth.
 Clinical Comment
 Retinal Detachment:-
• When a retinal detachment occurs, the separation
usually lies between the RPE cells and the
photoreceptors because no intercellular junctions join
these cells.
• The RPE cells remain attached to the choroid
and cannot be separated from it without
difficulty.
• Bruch’s membrane contains fibronectin and
laminin, large adhesive glycoproteins with many
binding sites that help maintain the adherence of
RPE cells to the membrane.
• Fluid can accumulate within the subretinal space,
separating the photoreceptors from the
nutrients supplied by the choroid.
• If the layers are not repositioned quickly, the affected
area of photoreceptor cells will necrose.
 Clinical Comment
 Retinal Hemorrhages:-
• HEMORRHAGES from retinal vasculature have
a characteristic appearance. Because of the
arrangement of the nerve fibers, the blood
pools in a feathered pattern called a flame-
shaped hemorrhage, which is indicative of the
NFL location. Hemorrhages in the inner
nuclear layer usually appear rounded and
often are called dot or blot hemorrhages.
 Clinical Comment
 Fundus View of the Internal Limiting
Membrane:-
• Reflections from the internal limiting
membrane produce the retinal sheen seen
with the ophthalmoscope.
• In younger persons, this membrane gives off
many reflections and appears glistening;
the sheen is less evident in older individuals.