HUMAN BIOLOGY

Senses

 Sight
 Smell
 Touch
 Taste
 Hearing

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 Sense of Sight

 The receptors for the sense of sight are in our eyes

 Receptor: A specialized cell or tissue sensitive to a

specific stimulus

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Human Eye: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBx5iT_e12g 3
Extrinsic eye muscles

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The structure of the vertebrate eye
Sclera Choroid
Retina
Ciliary body
Suspensory Macula lutea
ligament
Cornea
Iris
Optic
Pupil
nerve
Aqueous
humor
Lens
Vitreous humor Central artery and
vein of the retina
Optic disk
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(blind spot)
Humans and other mammals
– Focus light by changing the shape of the lens

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The human retina contains two types of photoreceptors
 Rods
 Cones

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 Rod cells do not see color but are best for night
viewing because they react to very low light levels.
 Cone cells are for color viewing.
– Work best in good light and are found mostly in the center
of the retina in an area called the macula lutea, which
provides the sharpest vision

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 Signals from rods and cones travel via optic nerve to the
brain, which interprets the image
 Within each eye is a small blind spot with no rods or
cones, where the optic nerve is attached to the eyeball

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 Myopia vs. Hyperopia

 If the incoming light

focuses before it gets
to the back of the eye
- “myopia”
(nearsightedness)

 If the incoming light

does not focus by the
time it reaches the
back of the eye
-“hyperopia” Hyperopic Eye
(farsightedness) 10
1. Myopia (near-sighted):
 See near clearly, but not far
 Long eyeball, bulgy lens
 Corrective lens: concave
(diverging lens; bends
light out)

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2. Hyperopia (far-sighted):
 See far clearly, but not near
 Short eyeball, flat lens
 Corrective lens: Convex
(converging lens;
bends light in)

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 Loss of elasticity of the lens
followed by denaturation of
crystallin making them less
transparent

 Cataract surgery:
http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=Go82c4f1emc

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Cataracts in humans

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Cataracts in other animals

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 Separation of pigmented layer and photoreceptor
layers of retina
 Photoreceptor cells have no access to blood vessels

Often caused by
trauma to the head

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Glaucoma: Elevated pressure within eye caused by a
build-up of aqueous humor
 Eventually causes damage to the retina
 Vision loss if not treated

Glaucoma surgery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF0rj4fM1l0

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