The Human Eye

The human Eye
Biology II
The Human eye
• The eye is a sense organ that allows us to focus on objects and see shapes and
colors.
Part of the eye Function
Aqueous humor Transparent watery liquid that supports the front of the eye and
maintains the shape of the cornea
Blind spot Region where the retina is not sensitive to light (no receptors are
present)
Choroid Black layer of blood vessels that carry food and oxygen to the eye
and remove waste products. Black color prevents reflection of
light inside the eye.
Ciliary muscles Muscles which contract and relax to change the thickness of the
eye lens
Conjunctiva Thin transparent membrane that protects the surface of the eye
from dust and other particles
Cornea Helps to focus light into the retina
Eye muscles move the eye in its socket
Fovea Region of the retina where the retinal cells are densest. Light is normally
focused here and it is where colors are detected.
Part of the eye Function
Iris Coloring ring of muscles that controls the amount of light entering
the eye.
Lens Focuses light onto the retina by refracting it
Optic Nerve Carries nerve impulses from the retina to the brain
Pupil Hole in the center of the iris through which light enters the eye
Retina Light sensitive layer around the inside of the eye
Sclera Tough white layer that surrounds the inside of the eye
Suspensory Attaches the ciliary muscle to the eye lens

ligaments
Vitreous humor Transparent jelly like substance that supports the back of the eye
and maintains the shape of the eyeball.
Protecting and cleaning the eyes
• Eyelids and eye lashes help to keep dust and
sweat from entering your eyes.
(blinking= INVOLUNTARY ACTION)
- The surface of the eye is kept moist by fluid
produced in the tear glands. This fluid
contains lysosome which kills germs.
- Blinking= eyelid moves across and spreads
the liquid.
- Excess fluid drains away through the tear
ducts and into the nasal cavity.
How we see:
1. Light enters our eyes through a

transparent, curved surface called the
CORNEA.
2. Light passes through a convex
(converging) lens which focuses the light
to form an image on the receptor cells
in the retina.
- the image formed on the retina is
UPSIDE-DOWN
3. The retina sends impulses to the brain
through the optic nerve. Our brain interprets
the image and we “see” it the right way up.
1. Light reflects off objects and travels in a straight line to
your eye.
2. Light passes through the cornea, into the pupil and
through the lens.
3. The cornea and lens bend (refract) the light to focus on
the retina.
4. Photoreceptors on the retina convert the light into
electrical impulses.
5. The electrical impulses pass along the optic nerve to the
Focusing:
• When we look at objects close or far
away, the lens in the eye changes to
keep the object in focus.
ACCOMODATION: the adjustment of
the lens shape to focus light coming
from different distances.
- the ciliary muscles alter the
thickness of the eye lens. ( these
muscles run around the eye lens and
are attached to the lens by suspensory
ligaments.
- Then tension in the suspensory
ligaments, and therefore the shape of
the eye lens, is altered by the
CONTRACTION and RELAXATION of the
ciliary muscles.
• Object at a near point: When muscle fibers (ciliary muscles)
CONTRACT, the suspensory ligaments are loosened, and the eye lens
become fatter.
• Object at a distance: When the muscles RELAX, the suspensory
ligaments tighten, pulling the eye lens and making it thinner.
• Light which enters the eye hits LIGHT SENSORY CELLS in
the retina.
• The light causes a chemical reaction in these cells
which in turn triggers nerve impulses.
• The impulses are transmitted along the optic nerve
to the brain.
• The brain interprets the impulses and corrects the
image so that we can see it the right way.
Light -> Sensory cells in the retina -> sensory neurons in the optic nerve -> Brain
• In humans, two eyes are positioned so that each one gives
a slightly different view of surroundings. This means that
humans have BINOCULAR VISION.
• Each Eye makes an image or picture of what you are
looking at; sends the information about both images is sent
to the brain and the brain combines the images to form
each eye so we things in three dimensions.
• The sensory cells in the eye are very sensitive to light. Light
enters the eye passing through the pupil. The muscle in the
iris controls the pupil and open and close to control the
amount of light entering the eye.
In very bright light, the iris muscles work to make the pupil constrict
(get smaller) to limit the amount of light entering the eye.
In dim light, the muscles of the iris allow the pupil to
dilate (open wider) so that more light enters the eye.
Important: The action of the pupil

is an example of a reflex action.
• Certain drugs can affect how the pupil in the eye reacts to
light.
• Example: Heroin: make the pupil constrict and become
unreactive.
• Cocaine and Amphetamines: make the pupil dilate and
become slow to react or unreactive to light.
• Marijuana, alcohol and depressants: do not make the pupil
change in size but they do make it slow to react or unreactive
to light.
Seeing shape and color:
• The retina consists of two types of cells- RODS and CONES.
RODS: occur mostly near the edges of the retina. They are not sensitive
to color and only respond to the brightness of the retina.
CONES: they are packed most densely at the middle of the retina; FOVEA.
- Each cone is sensitive to red, blue or green light.
E.g. when red light falls on the retina it activates the red sensitive cones
and you see red.
Other colors activate more than one type of cone. E.g. yellow light
activates red and green sensitive cones
Sight defects
• There are three common sight defects that can be corrected with
lenses:
A. Short sightedness ( MYOPIA)
B. Long sightedness (HYPERMETROPIA)
C. Lack of accommodation ( PRESBYOPIA)
Short Sightedness:
• If you are short sighted you can see
objects that are close to you, but
you cannot see objects clearly that
are far away.
• Short sightedness happens when
the whole eyeball is too long, or
when the lens is thickened.
• Refraction of the light through the
lens causes the light from distant
objects to come into focus in front
of the retina (rather than on it)
making the image blurry.
Diverging (concave lens): are
used to correct short sightedness
How to they work?

Concave lenses diverge the
rays of light from objects far
away, so they appear to come
from a point close to the eye.
- The image then falls directly
onto the retina.
Long Sightedness:
• If you are long sightedness, you can see objects

that are far away clearly, but objects that are up
close seem blurred because you cannot focus on
them.
• Long sightedness happens when the eyeball is
too short, or the lens is a bit thin.
• The rays of light from close objects are refracted
and they cannot focus before they reach the
retina.
Converging (Convex) lenses are
used to correct long sightedness.
• The convex lens make the

light from close objects
appear to have come from a
point further away.
• The eye can then focus the
rays so that they fall directly
onto the retina.
Lack of Accommodation:
• As we get older the lenses in our eyes
usually get a bit stiffer and we are not able
to change their shape as easily to
accommodate objects at different
distances.
• Converging lenses are normally used to
correct for lack of accommodation.
• Bifocal lens: is a diverging lens at the top
and a converging lens at the bottom.
• If you wear bifocals you can: look at the top 1. There is no distortion of vision by
when you are looking at objects from far away looking through different parts of a
and if you look down through the bottom of lens.
the lens to see things that are close. 2. Lenses move with eyes.

The Human Eye

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Human Eye

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Human Eye

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The human Eye

Lens Focuses light onto the retina by refracting it

Retina Light sensitive layer around the inside of the eye

Suspensory Attaches the ciliary muscle to the eye lens

1. Light enters our eyes through a

Important: The action of the pupil

How to they work?

• If you are long sightedness, you can see objects

• The convex lens make the

You might also like