Physiology of Vision

Introduction

• The eye is the organ which gives us the sense of

sight and allowing us to observe and learn more
about the surrounding world than we do with
any of the other four senses. We use our eyes in
almost every activity we perform, whether
reading, working, watching television or writing
etc.
•  The eye is able to detect bright light or dim light,
but it cannot sense objects when light is absent.
Cont…

• 70 percent of all sensory receptors are

in the eyes
• The vision is a photoreceptor sense
Anatomy of EYE

• The adult eye is a sphere about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in

diameter.
• Only 1/6th of the eye’s anterior surface can normally
be seen.
• Protection for the eye
 The rest of the eye is enclosed in a bony orbit.
 A cushion of fat surrounds most of the eye.
 It has two basic structures
 Eyeball
 Accessory structures
Structure of the Eyeball
Pupil

• Pupil is a central opening of the iris

• Regulates the amount of light entering the eye during:
 Close vision and bright light – pupils constrict
 Distant vision and dim light – pupils dilate
 Changes in emotional state – pupils dilate when
the subject matter is appealing or requires
problem-solving skills
Pupil Dilation and Constriction
Lens

• Biconvex crystal-like structure

• Held in place by a suspensory ligament attached
to the ciliary body
• Light passing through a convex lens is bent so
that the rays converge to a focal point
• When a convex lens forms an image, the image
is upside down and reversed right to left
Retina

• Extends anteriorly only to the ciliary body.

• Contains receptor cells (photoreceptors)
 Rods
 Cones
• Signals leave the retina toward the brain
through the optic nerve.
• No photoreceptor cells are at the optic
disk, or blind spot
Retina
Visual Receptors

Rods
 Hundreds of times more sensitive to light than cones
 Provide vision in poor light.
 Produce colorless (black and white) vision.
 Nerve fibers converge so impulses produce more
general outlines.
 Concentration of rods increases in areas away from
fovea centralis.
Visual Receptors

Cones
 Provide vision in good light.
 Produce colored and sharp vision
 Nerve fibers do not converge as much so impulses
produce more detailed images.
 Concentration of cones greatest in fovea centralis.
 Concentration of cones decreases in areas away from
fovea centralis.
 Fovea centralis – area of the retina with
only cones found laterally to each blind spot,
this is the area of greatest visual acuity, or
point of sharpest vision
Cone Sensitivity

 There are three types

of cones
 Different cones are
sensitive to different
wavelengths
 Color blindness is the
result of lack of one
cone type
Visual Pigments

Rods contain rhodopsin (visual purple)

 Light causes rhodopsin to change shape and release
opsin which acts as an enzyme in further reactions.
 Net result is hyperpolarization directly proportional to
intensity of light stimulus.
 Rhodopsin replenished in dim light.
 In dim light, a rhodopsin-replenished eye is said to be
dark-adapted (can see in dark).
Visual Pigments

Cones contain iodopsins

 A group of pigments sensitive to light waves of
different frequencies.
Eye Cavities

• The internal space of the

eye is subdivided by the
lens into two separate
cavities.
 Anterior cavity
 Posterior cavity
 Cont…

• The anterior cavity is the

space anterior to the lens
and posterior to the cornea
• The iris of the eye subdivides
the anterior cavity further
into two chambers.
 anterior chamber is
between the iris and
cornea
 posterior chamber is
between the lens and the
Cont…

• Posterior cavity is
posterior to the lens and
anterior to the retina.
• Transparent, gelatinous
vitreous body which
completely fills the space
between the lens and the
retina.
Physiology of EYE

• Light waves from an object enter the eye first through the
cornea, The light then proceed to the pupil
• Fluctuations in incoming light change the size of the pupil. 
When the light entering the eye is bright enough, the pupil
will constrict due to the pupillary light response.
Cont…

• The light continues through the vitreous humor

then, ideally, back to a clear focus on the retina,
behind the vitreous.  The small central area of the
retina is the macula, which provides the best vision
of any location in the retina.
• Within the layers of the retina, light impulses are
changed into electrical signals.  Then they are sent
through the optic nerve, along the visual pathway, to
the occipital cortex .  Here, the electrical signals are
interpreted or “seen” by the brain as a visual image.
• Actually, we do not “see” with our eyes but,
rather, with our brains.  Our eyes merely are the
beginnings of the visual process
It is not that easy …!

• To see every thing clearly three processes must talk

place

The Refraction or bending of light by the lens and

cornea.
The change in shape of the lens Accommodation.
The Constriction or narrowing of the pupil
Refraction

• Images focused on the retina are inverted

(upside down). They also undergo light to left
reversal.
• 75% of the refraction occurs at the cornea.
• 25% occurs at the lens, which also changes the
focus to view either distant or near objects.
Refraction Abnormality

• Myopia or nearsighted
is results from a lens that is
too strong or a long eyeball,
when the image focuses in
front of the retina,
corrected by concave a lens.
• Hyperopia or farsighted
is results from a lens that is
too lazy or a too short
eyeball, when the image
focuses behind the retina,
corrected by convex a lens.
Accommodations

• When the eye is focusing on a close object, the

lens becomes more curved, causing greater
refraction of the light rays.
• This increase in the curvature of the lens is called
Accommodation.
Near & Far Accommodation

• When viewing distant objects, the ciliary muscle

is relaxed and the lens is flatter because the
taught zonular fibers are stretching it in all
directions.
• When viewing close objects, the ciliary muscle
contracts, which pulls the ciliary processes
towards the lens. This releases tension on the
lens and zonular fibers. The lens is elastic and
then becomes more spherical.
Constriction of the Pupil

• Constriction of the pupil is a narrowing of the

diameter of the hole through which light enters
the eye due to contraction of the circular muscles
of the iris.
• This occurs automatically during accommodation
to prevent light from entering at the periphery of
the lens.
• The pupil also constricts in bright light.
Visual Pathway

1. Axons of all retinal ganglion cells in one eye exit the

eyeball at the optic disc and form the optic nerve on
that side.
2. At the optic chiasm, axons from the temporal half of
each retina do not cross but continue directly to the
lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus on the same
side.
3. Axons from the nasal half of each retina cross the optic
chiasm and continue to the opposite hypothalamus.
Visual Pathway

4. Each optic tract consists of crossed and uncrossed

axons that project from the optic chiasm to the
thalamus on one side.
5. Axon collateral extend to the midbrain to govern pupil
constriction and to the hypothalamus to govern
patterns of sleep and other circadian rhythms relevant
to light and darkness.
6. Axons of thalamic neurons form the optic radiations
and project to the primary visual area of the cortex on
the same side.
Visual cortex
Tapetum is a structure in the back of
eye and it reflects light. In domestic
animal including cat, dog, horse and
ruminants the tapetum reflects light
back though retina.
The visual field of two eyes overlap
centrally. The wider set eyes of some
herbivores have a panoramic field of vision.
The areas immediately in front of nose and
behind third quarter remain outside the
field of vision. A horse with head upward
or even when grazing has the ability to
scan a 360ͦͦ field of vision.