Chapter 9: Senses

VISION
 Accessory Structures of the Eye
Eyebrows
The eyebrows protect the eyes by preventing perspiration from running down the
forehead and into the eyes, causing irritation. They also help shade the eyes from
direct sunlight.
Eyelids
The eyelids, with their associated lashes, protect the eyes from foreign objects. If an
object suddenly approaches the eyes, the eyelids protect the eye by closing and then
opening quite rapidly (blink reflex). Blinking, which normally occurs about 20 times
per minute, also helps keep the eyes lubricated by spreading tears over the surface.
Conjunctiva
The conjunctiva is a thin,
transparent mucous membrane
covering the inner surface of the
eyelids and the anterior surface of
the eye. The secretions of the
conjunctiva help lubricate the
surface of the eye. Conjunctivis is
an inflammation of the conjunctiva.
Lacrimal Apparatus
The lacrimal apparatus consists of a
lacrimal gland situated in the
superior lateral corner of the orbit
and a nasolacrimal duct and
associated structures in the inferior
medial corner of the orbit. The
lacrimal gland produces a fluid we
call tears, which pass over the
anterior surface of the eye, but
excess tears are collected in the
medial angle of the eyes by small
ducts called lacrimal canaliculi.
These canaliculi open into a
lacrimal sac, an enlargement of the
nasolacrimal duct.
Extrinsic Eye Muscles
Each eyeball has six extrinsic eye
muscle attached to its surface. These
extrinsic muscles are skeletal muscles
and are responsible for the movement
of each eyeball. Four of these muscles
run more or less straight from their
origins in the posterior portion of the
orbit to their insertion site on the eye,
to attach to the four quadrants of the
eyeball. They are the superior, inferior,
medial, and lateral rectus muscles. Two
muscles, the superior and inferior
oblique muscles, are located to the long
axis of the eyeball.
 Anatomy of the Eye
Fibrous Tunic
1. Sclera – is the firm, white, outer connective tissue layer of the posterior five-
sixths of the fibrous tunic. The sclera helps maintain the shape of the eye,
protects the internal structures and provides attachment sites for the extrinsic
eye muscles. A small portion of the sclera can be seen as the “white of the eye”.
2. Cornea – is the transparent anterior sixth of the eye., which permits light
enter. As part of the focusing system of the fibrous tunic, the cornea also bends,
or refracts, the entering light.
Vascular Tunic

1. Choroid - this very thin structure consists of a vascular network and many melanin-
containing pigment cells, causing it to appear black. The black color absorbs light, so
that it is not reflected inside the eye.
2. Ciliary Body - is continuous with the anterior margin of the choroid. The ciliary body
contains smooth muscles called ciliary muscles, which attach to the perimeter of the
lens by suspensory ligaments. The Lens is a reflexible, biconvex, transparent disc.
3. Iris and Pupil – Iris is the colored part of the eye. The iris is a contractile structure
consisting mainly of smooth muscle surrounding an opening called the pupil. Light
passes through the pupil, and the iris regulates the diameter of the pupil, which
controls the amount of the light entering the eye.
Nervous Tunic

1. Pigmented retina - the pigmented retina, with the choroid, keeps light from reflecting back into the eye.
2. Sensory retina - contains photoreceptor cells as well as numerous interneurons.
a) Rods - can function in dim light because they are very sensitive, meaning they require lower levels of
light to be stimulated. Rods, however, do not provide color vision. Rod photoreceptors contain a
photosensitive pigment called rhodopsin.
Rhodopsin consist of a protein opsin loosely bound to a yellow pigment called retinal.
b) Cones – require much more light, and they do provide color vision. There three types of cones, each
sensitive to a different color: blue, green, or red.
c) Macula lutea and fovea centralis – the macula is a small spot near the center of the posterior retina.
In the center of the macula is a small pit, the fovea centralis. The fovea centralis is the part of the retina
where light is most focused when the eye is looking directly at an object.
d) Optic disc – is a white spot just medial to the macula, through which a number of blood vessels enter
the eye and spread over the surface of the retina. The optic disc contains no photoreceptor cells and does
not respond to light; it is therefore called the blind spot of the eye. A small image projected onto the blind
spot cannot be seen.
 Chambers of the Eye
Anterior chamber and Posterior chamber
The anterior and posterior chambers are located between the cornea and the lens. The iris
separates the anterior and the posterior chamber, which are continuous with each other
through the pupil. The anterior and posterior chambers are filled with aqueous humor (watery
fluid), which helps maintain pressure within the eye, refracts light, and provides nutrients to
the inner surface of the eye.
Aqueous humor is produced by ciliary body as a blood filtrate and is returned to the blood
through a venous ring that surrounds the cornea. If aqueous humor flow from the eye through
the venous ring is blocked, the pressure in the eye increases, resulting in a condition called
glaucoma.
Vitreous chamber
The vitreous chamber of the eye filled with a transparent, jellylike substance called vitreous
humor. The vitreous humor helps maintain pressure within the eye and holds the lens and the
retina in place.
 Functions of the Eye
Light refraction
An important characteristic of light is that it can be refracted (bent). As light
passes from air to some other, denser transparent substance, the light rays are
refracted If the surface of of a lens is concave, the light rays are bent, so that they
diverge as they pass through the lens; if the surface is convex, they converge. As
the light rays converge, they finally reach a point at which they cross. The
crossing point is called the focal point (FP), and causing light to converge is called
focusing. The focal point in the eye occurs just anterior to the retina, and the tiny
image that is focused on the retina is inverted compared to the actual object.
Focusing images on the Retina
The cornea is a convex
structure, and as light rays pass from
the air through the cornea, they
converge. Additional convergence
occurs as light passes through the
aqueous humor, lens, and vitreous
humor. The greatest contrast in
media density is between the air and
the cornea. The greatest amount of
convergence therefore occurs at that
point. However, the shape of the
cornea make any adjustment in focus.
Fine adjustment in focus are
accomplished by changing the shape
of the lens.
 Neural pathways for vision
The optic nerve leaves the eye and exits the orbit through the optic foramen to enter the cranial
cavity, Just inside the cranial cavity, the two optic nerves connect to each other at the optic chiasm.
Beyond the optic chiasm, the route of the ganglionic axons is through the two optic tracts. Most
of the optic tract axons terminate in the thalamus. Some axons do not terminate in the thalamus but
separate from the optic tracts to in the superior colliculi, the center for visual reflexes.
Neurons from the thalamus form the fibers of the optic radiations, which project to the visual
cortex in the occipital lobe of the cerebrum. The visual cortex is the area of the cerebrum where
vision is perceived.
The image seen by each eye is the visual field of that eye. Depth perception (three-dimensional,
or binocular vision) requires both eyes and occurs where the two visual fields overlap.
The most common cause of diplopia, or double vision, is misalignment of the two eyes
(binocular diplopia). This often results from weakness of the muscles moving the eyes.