Anatomy of the eye

Definitions:

The optic nerve is part of the body’s central nervous system. It is the second of a dozen pairs of cranial
nerves. When you are diagnosed with an optic nerve disorder, it means that a part of your optic nerve
has been compromised or damaged. As a result, you could have any of the following eye diseases: optic
nerve inflammation, glaucoma, or problems with the blood supply to your optic nerves.

Parts and function of the eyes

Function of the Eye

The main function of the eye is to work with the brain to provide us with vision. The eye and
brain translate light waves into a sensation we call vision.

Eye Parts

The eye has many parts. Some of the main parts are listed and described below.
Anatomy of the eye

 lens
o The transparent crystalline lens of the eye is located immediately behind the
iris.
 cornea
o The cornea is a transparent dome which serves as the outer window of the
eye. The cornea is the most powerful structure focusing light entering the
eye.
 retina
o The retina is the innermost layer of the eye. It is composed of nerve tissue
which senses the light entering the eye.
o The retina sends impulses through the optic nerve back to the brain, which
translates the impulses into images that we see.
o There are 4 types of light-sensitive receptors found in the retina
1. rods
2. cones that absorb long-wavelength light (red)
3. cones that absorb middle-wavelength light (green)
4. cones that absorb short-wavelength light (blue)
 pupil
o The pupil is the hole in the center of the eye where light passes through.
 iris
The iris is the colored part of the eye. It is a thin diaphragm composed
o
mostly of connective tissue and smooth muscle fibers. The iris lies between
the cornea and the crystalline lens.
 optic nerve
o The optic nerve is a continuation of the axons of the ganglion cells in the
retina. It acts acts like a cable connecting the eye with the brain.
o The optic nerve is also called the cranial nerve II.
 sclera
o The sclera is the white, opaque portion of the eye. It provides protection and
serves as an attachment for the extraocular muscles which move the eye.

Definitions of MRA:

MRA:The magnetic resonance angiogram, or MRA, is a noninvasive test that has demonstrated
usefulness in defining the anatomy of blood vessels of certain size in the head and neck. MRA serves as a
complement to traditional MRI scanning in evaluation of the brain and neck.

Conventional angiograms, whereby contrast material is injected through a catheter into the blood
vessels of the head and neck, are the gold standard (most accurate) for determining the anatomy of
these vessels. The advantages of MRA is that it is faster and easier (it does not involve the catheters,
contrast material, and risks of angiograms). Another advantage is that MRA also gives an image of the
tissue of the brain.
Anatomy of the eye

PATHO:

Nontraumatic intracerebral hemorrhage most commonly results from hypertensive damage to

blood vessel walls (eg, hypertension, eclampsia, drug abuse), but it also may be due to
autoregulatory dysfunction with excessive cerebral blood flow (eg, reperfusion injury,
hemorrhagic transformation, cold exposure), rupture of an aneurysm or arteriovenous
malformation (AVM), arteriopathy (eg, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, moyamoya), altered
hemostasis (eg, thrombolysis, anticoagulation, bleeding diathesis), hemorrhagic necrosis (eg,
tumor, infection), or venous outflow obstruction (eg, cerebral venous thrombosis).
Nonpenetrating and penetrating cranial trauma are also common causes of intracerebral
hemorrhage.

Chronic hypertension produces a small vessel vasculopathy characterized by lipohyalinosis,

fibrinoid necrosis, and development of Charcot-Bouchard aneurysms, affecting penetrating
arteries throughout the brain including lenticulostriates, thalamoperforators, paramedian
branches of the basilar artery, superior cerebellar arteries, and anterior inferior cerebellar arteries.

Predilection sites for intracerebral hemorrhage include the basal ganglia (40-50%), lobar regions
(20-50%), thalamus (10-15%), pons (5-12%), cerebellum (5-10%), and other brainstem sites (1-
5%).

Intraventricular hemorrhage occurs in one third of intracerebral hemorrhage cases from

extension of thalamic ganglionic bleeding into the ventricular space. Isolated intraventricular
hemorrhage frequently arise from subependymal structures including the germinal matrix,
AVMs, and cavernous angiomas