Eyeball

The eyeball is like a video camera measuring about 1 inch or 25cm in diameter. If
someone’s eyeball is larger than this, they will be nearsighted (myopic). If someone’s eyeball is
smaller than this, they will be farsighted (hyperopic).

Having two eyes gives us binocular vision – depth perception. This is due to the fusing
of both images in the visual cortex.

Eyelid

The eyelids protect and lubricate the eye. Small oil-producing glands line the inner edge
of our eyelids. These oils mix with tears when we blink, keeping the eye moist and clean.

Lacrimal Gland

This gland continually releases tears and other protective fluids onto the surface of the
eye. It lubricates and keeps the cornea from becoming dehydrated.

Lacrimal Duct

The lacrimal sac is a tiny pump that drains tears and other debris from the eye. The fluids
flow down the nasolacrimal duct into the nose where they help keep the nasal linings moist. This
is why your nose runs when you cry.

Eyelashes and Eyebrows

These specialized hairs protect the eyes from particles that may injure them. They form a
screen to keep dust and insects out. Anything touching them triggers the eyelids to blink.

Eye Socket

The eye socket or orbit is a cone-shaped bone cavity that protects the eye. The socket is
padded with fatty tissue that allows the eye to move easily.

Orbital Muscle

Six muscles are in charge of eye movement. Four of these move the eye up, down, left
and right. The other two control the twisting motion of the eye when we tilt our head. Defects in
these muscles and the nerves that control them lead to conditions like Nystagmus and Amblyopia
(Lazy Eye).

Pupil
 The pupil is the hole in the center of the ring of muscles called the iris that light passes
through. The iris muscles control its size.

Iris

The iris is the coloured part of the eye. It is a rind of muscle fibres located behind the
cornea and in front of the lens. It contracts and expands opening and closing the pupil, in
response the brightness of surrounding light.

Just as the operture in a camera protect the film from overexposure to light so does the
iris of the eye help protect the sensitive retina.

Lens

The eye’s crystalline lens works like the adjustable lens in a camera. Positioned just
behind the cornea, it is responsible for keeping images in focus on the retina. It is adjustable for
distance and close work.

A Cateract is the clouding up of the lens. This happens to most people as they age. A
few people are even born with Cateracts.

Lens Sack or Capsule

During modern cataract surgery the outer membrane of the lens is left in place. The
artificial intraocular lens is placed in this sack.

Ligaments or Zonules

Zonules are hundreds of string like fibers that hold the lens suspended in position and
enable it to change shape for near or distant vision.

Cornea

The cornea is a clear, dome-shaped surface that covers the front of the eye. It is the first
and most powerful lens in the eye’s optical system.

To keep it transparent, the cornea contains no blood vessels. Tears that flow over it as
well as the acqueous humor in the Anterior Chamber behind it keep it nourished.

The cornea can be damaged from accidents, infections. When you hear of eye
transplants, it is the cornea that is being replaced.

Conjunctiva
 The conjunctiva is a thin, transparent membrane (skin) covering the front of the eye and
inner eyelids. Cells in this lining help to produce the mucous that helps to lubricate the eye.
This is the eye’s first layer of protection against eye infection.

Inflammation of this membrane is called Conjunctivitis or “Pink Eye”.

Anterior Chamber

The anterior chamber the space between the cornea and the iris filled with Acqueous
Humor.

Aqueous Humor

The Aqueous Humor is a water-like fluid produced by the ciliary body. It fills the front
of the eye between the lens and the cornea thus giving it shape and provides the cornea with
oxygen and nutrient.

Ciliary Body

The ciliary body is where the aqueous humor is produced.

Ciliary Muscle

The ciliary muscle changes or adjusts the shape of the lens to accommodate objects
whether near or far or big or small. This is called Accommodation. It can bring the fine point in
a phonebook to a focus or focus on the moon over a ¼ million miles away. To do this, it relaxes
to flatten the lens for distance vision while for close vision, it contracts, rounding out the lens.

Everyone will develop an eye-condition called Presbyopia because as we age, our Ciliary
Muscle and crystalline lens lose their elasticity. This is why people need reading glasses by the
time they reach their 40s.

Uvea

The uvea is the middle Vascular layer of the eye. It is made up of three parts: the iris,
ciliary body and chorid.

Uveitis is the inflammation (or swelling) of these parts of the eye.

Canals of Schlemm

These canals are located around the perimeter of the iris. They allow aqueous fluid to
drain back into the blood stream. The trabecular Meshwork along with the Canals of Schlemm
regulate the eyes internal pressure.
 In the eye disease called Glaucoma, these canals become blocked leading to increased
pressure. The increased pressure from this condition destroys the optic nerve.

Retina

The retina is the film of the eye. It converts light rays into electrical signals and sends
them to the brain through the optic nerve. The sides of the retina are responsible for our
peripheral vision. The center area, called the macula, is used for our fine central vision and color
vision.

The retina is where most the problems leading to vision loss occur. Three of the leading
causes of blindness, from retina damage, are Retinitis Pigmentosa, Macular Degeneration and
Diabetic Retinopathy.

Sclera

The sclera is the white, tough wall of the eye. It along with internal fluid pressure keeps
the eye’s shape and protects its delicate internal parts.

Chloroid

The chloroid is a layer of blood vessels between the retina and the schlera. It supplies
blood to the retina. In the diseases called Macular Degeneration, abnormal blood vessels grow
into the space between the retina and chloroid damaging the macula.

Vitreous Cavity

The space between the lens and retina filled with the gel like Vitreous Humor.

Vitreous Humor

The vitreous humor is a jelly-like liquid that fills most of the eye (from the lens
backwards). As we age it changes from a gel to a liquid and gradually shrinks separating from
the retina. This is when people start seeing floaters, dark specs in their vision. This is a normal
sign of aging, but in a few cases the retina can become detached as the vitreous separates.

Fovea

The fovea or “Small Pit” is an indentation in the center of the macula. Its diameter is
only 1/16 inch or 1.5mm. This small part of our retina is responsible for our highest visual
acuity. It is the center of our central vision.

Visual Axis

The Visual Axis is an imaginary line drawn through the center of the pupil to the center
of the Fovea. The orbital muscles keep the visual axis of both eyes aligned on the center of what
you are looking at (fixation point). An eye condition called Strabismus - (misaligned eyes)
results when the orbital muscles fail to keep the eyes in alignment. Any damage to eye structures
along this axis leads to severe vision loss.

Macula

This part of the eye is the most sensitive. Its diameter is only ¼ inch or 7mm. It is
responsible for our central or reading vision. This part of the retina gives us 20/20 vision.
Without the macula, you would be Legally Blind.

People with eye diseases like Macular Degeneration have vision from 20/200 to 20/800.

Photoreceptor Cells

The retina is composed of two types of photoreceptor cells. When light falls on one of
these cells, it causes a chemical reaction that sends an electrical signal to the brain.
Cone cells give us our detailed color daytime vision. There are 6 million of them in each
human eye. Most of them are located in the central retina - macula fovea area. There are three
types of cone cells: one sensitive to red light, another to green light, and the third sensitive to
blue light.
Rod cells are about 500 times more sensitive to light then cone cells; they give us our dim
light or night vision. They are also more sensitive to motion then cone cells. There are 120
million rod cells in the human eye. Most rod cells are located in our peripheral or side vision.

Optic Disk

The optic disk is the spot on the retina where the optic nerve leaves the eye. There are no
sensory cells here, creating a blind spot. Each eye covers for the blind spot of the other eye and
the brain fills in the missing information.

Retinal Blood Vessels

A doctor can see the blood vessels that supply the retina when he looks into your eyes.
These vessels are in the choroid just beneath the retina. Abnormal blood vessel growth and
leaking blood vessels are the cause of vision loss in eye conditions like, Diabetic Retinopathy,
ROP, and Macular Degeneration.

Retinal Pigment Epithelium

The RPE is a layer of cells between the retina and choroid. The inside of a camera is
painted black to absorb scattered and reflected light. The black pigment known as melanin in the
RPE does the same job for the eye. The RPE gets rid of waste products produced by the
photoreceptor cells.
 As we age, the RPE can sometimes lose its ability to process this waste. Deposits of this
waste, called drusen, can distort and damage the retina leading to an eye condition called dry
macular degeneration.

Optic Nerve

Each optic nerve has about 1.2 million nerve fibers. This is the cable connecting the eye
to the brain.

Optic Tract

The nerves that connect the optic chiasm to the LGN are called the optic tract. If one of
these tracts is damaged, vision will be lost in one side of each eye.

Optic Chiasm

This is the first part of the brain to receive visual input. Each eye takes a slightly different
picture of the world. At the optic chiasm each picture is divided in half. The outer left and right
halves continue back toward the visual cortex. The inner left and right halves cross over to the
other side of the brain then continue back toward the visual cortex. See a diagram of the optic
pathways.

Visual Cortex

The part of the brain that processes and combines visual information from both eyes and
converts it into sight. Damage to the visual cortex results in a condition called cortical blindness.

Visual Fields

The retina of each eye has two sections the nasal retina - (nose side) and temporal retina -
(ear side). For example: with your right eye, you see the right half of the world with your nasal
retina; you see the left half of the world with your temporal retina. The picture your eye takes is
flipped left for right and upside down; it’s up to the brain to sort things out.

Brain

The brain is where the electrical signals from our eyes are processed into vision. Damage
to the brain can lead to loss of vision if the visual cortex or optic pathways are damaged.

Laternal Geniculate Nucleus – LGN

This part of the brain acts as a relay station; it decodes visual information from the optic
tract before sending it to the visual cortex for final processing.