An-Najah National University

Faculty of Medicine
Division of Physiology, pharmacology and
Toxicology
Medical physiology one
7102201
Dr. Azza Isleem, MD, PhD
Dr. Heba Salah, PhD
Dr. Abdalrahman Al Aqra’a, MD, Msc.

The Nervous System: Sensory Physiology 2

 Taste sensation

• The taste buds in the mouth

• Smell, texture of food, and the presence of substances in the food that
stimulate pain endings also contribute to taste perception

• At least there are 13 possible or probable chemical receptors in the taste

cells : 2 sodium receptors, 2 potassium receptors, 1 chloride receptor, 1
adenosine receptor, 1 inosine receptor, 2 sweet receptors, 2 bitter receptors, 1
glutamate receptor, and 1 hydrogen ion receptor

• The primary sensations of taste : sour, salty, sweet, bitter, and umami
 Taste sensation
• Sour Taste : acids; by the hydrogen ion concentration. The intensity of this taste
sensation is approximately proportional to the logarithm of the hydrogen ion
concentration

• Salty Taste : ionized salts, mainly by the sodium ion concentration

• Sweet Taste : several types of chemicals (specially organic chemicals) cause

sweet taste including sugars, glycols, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, amides,
esters, some amino acids, some small proteins, sulfonic acids, halogenated acids,
and inorganic salts of lead and beryllium

• Bitter Taste : several types of chemicals (organic substances) :

 long-chain organic substances that contain nitrogen
 alkaloids : as quinine, caffeine, strychnine, nicotine, and deadly toxins
found in poisonous plants
 Bitter taste sensation is the most sensitive taste sensations, this provides an
important protective function against many dangerous toxins in food

• Umami : delicious taste , pleasant taste sensation

• Substance : L –glutamate ( in meat extracts and aging cheese)
 Taste buds
• About 1 /30 millimeter in diameter and a length of about 1 /16 millimeter

• Composition of taste bud: about 50 modified epithelial cells, some of

which are supporting cells called susten-tacular cells and others of which
are taste cells

• Replacement of the taste cells are continually occurs by mitotic division of

surrounding epithelial cells, so some taste cells are young cells and others
are mature cells mainly toward the center of the bud

• The outer tips of the taste cells are arranged around a

minute taste pore

• From the tip of each taste cell, several microvilli, or

taste hairs , protrude outward into the taste pore to
approach the cavity of the mouth. These microvilli
provide the receptor surface for taste

• Branching terminal network of taste nerve fibers

interwoven around the bodies of the taste cells, and
this nerve fiber is stimulated by the taste receptor cells
 Taste buds
Location of the taste buds :
1. A large number of taste buds are around the
circumvallate papillae, which form a V line
on the surface of the posterior tongue
2. Moderate numbers of taste buds are on the
fungiform papillae over the flat anterior
surface of the tongue
3. Moderate numbers are on the foliate papillae
located in the folds along the lateral surfaces
of the tongue
4. On the palate, few are found on the tonsillar
pillars, on the epiglottis, and even in the
proximal esophagus

• Children has more taste buds compared to adult, and after the age of 45 degeneration of
taste buds occurs resulting in decrease sensitivity to taste in older people

• At low concentration of the taste substance, each taste bud usually responds mostly to
one of the five primary taste stimuli, however at high concentration, most buds can be
excited by two or more of the primary taste stimuli
 Mechanism of taste sensation
• Receptor Potential: the taste chemical binds to a protein receptor on the outer
surface of the taste receptor cell near to or protruding through a villus membrane,
this binding leads to opening of ion channels, allowing positively charged sodium
ions or hydrogen ions (salty and sour taste respectively) to enter and depolarize the
normal negativity of the cell.

• For the sweet and bitter taste sensations, binding of the chemical substance to
receptor protein activates second-messenger transmitter substances inside the taste
cells, and these second messengers cause intracellular chemical changes that elicit
the taste signals

• When the taste receptors are activated, they release neurotransmitter in the
synaptic cleft which then will activate the sensory neuron

• The stimulus is removed by washing out the chemical substance by the saliva

• On first application of the taste stimulus, the taste nerve send a strong immediate
signal, then it send a weaker continuous signal as long as the taste bud is exposed
to the taste stimulus
 Mechanism of taste sensation

• Facial nerve : taste impulses from the anterior two thirds

of the tongue pass through the facial nerve to the tractus
solitarius in the medulla oblongata

• Glossopharyngeal nerve: taste sensations from the

circumvallate papillae on the back of the tongue and
from other posterior regions of the mouth and throat are
transmitted through the glossopharyngeal nerve also into
the tractus solitarius in the medulla oblongata, but at a
slightly more posterior level

• Vagus nerve: few taste signals from the base of the

tongue and other parts of the pharyngeal region are
transmitted into the tractus solitarius by the vagus nerve

• From the nuclei of tractus solitarius, second-order

neurons are sent to the thalamus

• From the thalamus, third-order neurons are transmitted

to the lower tip of the postcentral gyrus in the parietal
cerebral cortex
 Smell sensation

• The sense of smell is poorly developed in human and it is the least

understood sense in our body

• Composition of the olfactory membrane :

• Position: in the superior part of each nostril, medially it folds downward

along the surface of the superior septum; laterally, it folds over the
superior turbinate and even over a small portion of the upper surface of
the middle turbinate. The surface area of olfactory membrane is about 2.4
square centimeters in each nostril
 Smell sensation

• The olfactory cells: they are the receptor

cells, which are actually bipolar nerve
cells derived originally from the CNS. We
have 100 million olfactory cells in the
olfactory epithelium

• At the mucosal end, the olfactory cell

forms a knob from which 4 to 25 olfactory
hairs (olfactory cilia, project into the
mucus coat at the inner surface of the
nasal cavity. Odors interact with the cilia
to stimulate the olfactory cell

• Sustentacular cells : supporting cells

• Bowman ’s glands : small mucus gland

Composition of the olfactory membrane
 Smell sensation
• The odorant substance first diffuses through the
mucus covering the cilia, then it binds to G-protein
coupled receptor proteins in the membrane of each
cilia, leading to activation of the G-protein and the
production of the cAMP which will then activate
the Na channel. Entrance of sodium depolarizes
the olfactory cells, resulting in action potential that
travels to the CNS by the olfactory nerve

• Amplification : amplification of the signal through

the G-protein receptors underlines the high
sensitivity of the olfactory neuron to even the
slightness amount of odorant substance

• Physical properties of the odorant: volatile, must

be at least slightly water soluble and it is helpful to
be slightly lipid soluble

Mechanism of excitation of olfactory cells

 Transmission of olfactory signals
• The olfactory tract (cranial nerve 1) and the bulb are an anterior
outgrowth of brain tissue from the base of the brain

• The olfactory bulb, lies over the cribriform plate, which

separates the brain cavity from the upper nasal cavity

• Small nerves pass upward from the olfactory membrane in the

nasal cavity through multiple small perforations in the
cribriform plate to enter the olfactory bulb in the cranial cavity

• In the olfactory bulb, the short axons from the olfactory cells
terminate in multiple globular structures called glomeruli. There
are several thousand glomeruli in each bulb

• Each glomerulus is the terminus for about 25,000 axons from

olfactory cells, and for dendrites from about 25 large mitral cells
and about 60 smaller tufted cells
• The olfactory cortex is located on the base of the frontal lobe
and medial aspect of the temporal lobe
• Lateral inhibition by granular cells
The dendrites synapse with the olfactory cell
neurons, and the mitral and tufted cells send
axons through the olfactory tract to transmit
olfactory signals to higher levels in the central
nervous system
Transmission of olfactory signals
 The sense of hearing
• The sense of hearing is based on the physics of sound and the physiology of the
external, middle, and inner ear, the nerves to the brain, and the brain regions
involved in processing acoustic information.

• Sound energy is transmitted through gaseous, liquid, or solid medium by setting

up a vibration of the medium’s molecules, air being the most common medium.

• When there are no molecules, as in a vacuum, there can be no sound

 Anatomy of the ear
• Ear is a special sensory organ for hearing
and balance, it transforms the mechanical
energy of vibration of sound waves into
nerve impulse

• External ear: it amplifies and direct the

sound toward the middle ear. It consists of
auricle (skin and cartilage) and external
canal (outer 1/3 is cartilaginous, inner 2/3 is
bony). From the external auditory meatus,
sound waves pass inward to the tympanic
membrane (eardrum)

• Otitis externa: is an inflammation or

infection of the external auditory canal
(EAC), the auricle, or both
 Anatomy of the ear

• The middle ear: it is an air-filled cavity in the

temporal bone that opens via the eustachian
(auditory) tube into the nasopharynx and through
the nasopharynx to the exterior

• The auditory tube is usually closed, but during

swallowing, chewing, and yawning it opens,
keeping the air pressure on the two sides of the
eardrum equalized

• The auditory ossicles: the malleus, incus, stapes.

The ossicles conduct sound from the tympanic
membrane through the middle ear to the cochlea
(the inner ear)
 Anatomy of the ear

• Two small skeletal muscles, the tensor tympani

and the stapedius, are also located in the middle
ear.

• The tensor tympani muscle keeps the tympanic

membrane tensed, allowing sound vibrations on
any portion of the tympanic membrane to be
transmitted to the ossicles, which would not be
true if the membrane were lax

• Contraction of the stapedius pulls the faceplate

of the stapes out of the oval window
 Anatomy of the ear

• The ligaments that suspends the ossicles allow

the combined malleus and incus to act as a
single lever.

• The articulation of the incus with the stapes

causes the stapes to push forward on the oval
window and on the cochlear fluid on the other
side of window every time the tympanic
membrane moves inward, and to pull
backward on the fluid every time the malleus
moves outward
 Anatomy of the ear
The importance of the middle ear:
1. Amplification of the sound

2. Attenuation reflex:
 When loud sounds are transmitted into the central nervous system, a
reflex occurs after a latent period of only 40 to 80 milliseconds to cause
contraction of the stapedius muscle and, to a lesser extent the tensor
tympani muscle.
 The tensor tympani muscle pulls the handle of the malleus inward while
the stapedius muscle pulls the stapes outward.
 These two opposite forces cause the entire ossicular system to develop
increased rigidity, protecting the cochlea from damaging vibrations
caused by excessively loud sound

• Otitis media : inflammation of the middle ear

• Both the external and middle ear have a conductive function

 Bone conduction

• Vibrations of the entire skull can cause fluid

vibrations in the cochlea since the cochlea is
embedded in a bony cavity in the temporal bone,
called the bony labyrinth.

• Hearing through the bone can occur if a special

electromechanical sound amplifying device is
applied to the bone since the energy available
even in loud sound in the air is not sufficient to
cause hearing through the bone.

• Tuning fork on the mastoid process

 Anatomy of the ear
• Inner ear: The inner ear (labyrinth) is made up of two parts, one within the other; The
bony and membranous labyrinth

• The bony labyrinth is a series of channels in the petrous portion of the temporal bone
and is filled with a fluid called perilymph, which has a relatively low concentration of
K+ , similar to that of plasma or the cerebral spinal fluid
 Anatomy of the ear
The bony labyrinth has three components:
1. The spirally coiled cochlea (containing receptors for hearing)
2. The semicircular canals (containing receptors that respond to head rotation)
3. The vestibule (containing receptors that respond to gravity and head tilt).

The semicircular canals and the vestibule forms the vestibular system which is involved in
balance
 Anatomy of the ear
• Within each structure of the bony labyrinth, and filling only a fraction of the
available space, is a corresponding portion of the membranous labyrinth: the
vestibule contains the utricle and saccule, each semicircular canal its semicircular
duct, and the cochlea its cochlear duct

• The membranous labyrinth is surrounded by the perilymph fluid and is filled with
a K+-rich fluid called endolymph
 Anatomy of the ear
• The cochlea contains the sensory organ of hearing.

• Cochlea looks like the shell of a snail

• The hollow centre of the modiolus contains the cochlear artery and
vein, as well as the cochlear nerve.

• The cochlear nerve is a division of the very short

vestibulocochlear nerve
• The cochlea consists of three tubes coiled side by side: (1) the
scala vestibuli , (2) the scala media , and (3) the scala tympani

• The reissner’s membrane (or vestibular membrane) separates the

scala vestibuli from scala media, the basialr membrane separates
the scala tympani from scala media. The upper scala vestibuli
and the lower scala tympani contain perilymph.
 Anatomy of the ear

• At the base of the cochlea, the scala vestibuli ends

at the oval window, which is closed by the footplate
of the stapes

• The scala tympani end at the round window. The

scala media, the middle cochlear chamber, is
continuous with the membranous labyrinth and
does not communicate with the other two scalae

• The organ of Corti lies on the surface of the basilar

membrane
 Organ of Corti
• It is the receptor organ that when the basilar membrane
vibrate, it generates nerve impulses

• The organ of corti rests on the basilar membrane and

contains highly specialized auditory receptors (hair
cells).

• The hair cells are arranged in: three or four rows of

outer hair cells lateral to the tunnel formed by the rods
of Corti, and one row of inner hair cells medial to the
tunnel.

• The cell bodies of the sensory neurons that arborize

around the bases of the hair cells are located in the
spiral ganglion within the modiolus, the bony core
around which the cochlea is wound

• 90 to 95% of the sensory neurons innervate the inner hair cells; only 5–10% innervates the more numerous outer
hair cells, and each sensory neuron innervates several outer hair cells. The axons of the afferent neurons that
innervate the hair cells form the auditory (cochlear) division of the eighth cranial nerve

• From the spiral ganglion, neuronal cells send axons into the cochlear nerve and then into the brain stem
 Sound
• Sound waves are waves of air pressure

• The difference between the pressure of molecules in

zones of compression and rarefaction determines the
wave’s amplitude, which is related to the loudness of
the sound; the greater the amplitude, the louder the
sound

• The frequency of vibration of the sound source (i.e., the

number of zones of compression or rarefaction in a
given time) determines the pitch we hear; the faster the
vibration, the higher the pitch. The frequency is
measured by the hertz

• The entire range of frequencies audible to human

beings extends from 20 to 20,000 Hz

• The sounds heard most keenly by human ears are those

from sources vibrating at frequencies between 1000
and 4000 Hz (hertz, or cycles per second)
• .
 Excitation of hair cells
• The change in the length, diameter and stiffness allow best vibration of the stiff, short fibers
near the oval window at a very high frequency, and the long, limber fibers near the tip of the
cochlea at a low frequency. So, there is a high frequency resonance of the basilar membrane
near the base, and low frequency resonance at the apex.

• From hair cells there are minute hairs or stereocilia that project upward from the hair cells.
Each hair cells has about 100 sterocilia. These stiff minute hairs either touch or are
embedded in the tectorial membrane (the surface gel coating lying above the stereocilia in
the scala media.

• Bending of the hairs in one direction depolarizes the hair cells, and bending in the opposite
direction hyperpolarizes them. This in turn excites the auditory nerve fibers synapsing with
their bases.
• The stereocilia become progressively Excitation of hair cells
longer on the side of the hair cell away
from the modiolus, and the tops of the
shorter stereocilia are attached by thin
filaments to the back sides of their
adjacent longer stereocilia.

• Bending of the cilia in the direction of

the longer ones will tug the tips of the
smaller stereocilia outward from the
surface of the hair cell.

• This causes a mechanical transduction

that opens 200 to 300 cation-
conducting channels, allowing rapid
movement of potassium ions from the
endolymph fluid in the scala media into
the stereocilia, causing depolarization
of the hair cell membrane.

• About 90 percent of the auditory nerve

fibers are stimulated by the inner cells
 The sense of hearing
Determination of sound frequency
• Low-frequency sounds cause maximal activation of the basilar membrane near the
apex of the cochlea, high frequency sounds activate the basilar membrane near the
base of the cochlea, and Intermediate-frequency sounds activate the membrane at
intermediate distances between the two extremes.

• Detection of different sound frequencies is done by the determination of the

positions of the basilar membrane that are most stimulated; the place principle for
the determination of sound frequency.
 The sense of hearing

Determination of Loudness

• The louder the sound, the hair cells will excite the nerve endings at more rapid
rates

• As the sound becomes louder, the amplitude of vibration will increase, and
more hair cells will be stimulated, and transmission through many nerve fibers
will occur; spatial summation

• When the vibration of the basilar membrane reaches high intensity, the outer
hair cells will be stimulated
 Auditory pathways

• Cochlear nerve fibers synapse with interneurons in the

brainstem.

• From the brainstem a multineuron pathway transmits

information through the thalamus to the auditory cortex in
the temporal lobe.

• Primary auditory cortex is necessary for identifying pitch

and direction of sounds, and elements of speech and
melodies as well .

• Primary auditory cortex is surrounded by auditory

association cortex, which function is extracting of meanings
of sound pattern.

• many crossover connections from side to side in the auditory

neural pathway …………….hearing….localization.????.
Determination of the sound direction:
• Two principles for the determination of the horizontal direction of the sound:
1. the time lag between the entry of sound into one ear and its entry into
the opposite ear
2. the difference between the intensities of the sounds in the two ears
 Deafness: self study
Deafness is divided into two types: ………….audiometer
1. Nerve deafness:
• caused by impairment of the cochlea, the auditory nerve, or the central nervous
system circuits from the ear
• Nerve deafness : both air and bone conduction are impaired
• Examples of nerve deafness:
1. Deafness for high-frequency sound caused by damage to the base of the cochlea.
This type of deafness occurs to some extent in almost all older people
2. Deafness for low-frequency sounds caused by excessive and prolonged
exposure to very loud sounds, because low-frequency sounds are usually louder
and more damaging to the organ of Corti
3. Deafness for all frequencies caused by drug sensitivity of the organ of Corti, in
particular, sensitivity to some antibiotics such as streptomycin, kanamycin, and
chloramphenicol

2. Conductive deafness:
• caused by impairment of the physical structures of the ear that conduct sound
itself to the cochlea
• air conduction is impaired while bone conduction is normal
• Example: fibrosis in the middle ear following repeated infection
 Anatomy of the eye

The eye is a three-layered (sclera, choroid, retina), fluid-

filled ball, divided into two chambers

1. The sclera (white of the eye):

• The outer protective layer of the eyeball through which
no light can pass.
• Sclera forms a white capsule around the eye, except at its
anterior surface where it is specialized into the clear
cornea, through which light rays enter the eye.
• Functions: 1. protective function, 2. it is the insertion
point for external muscles that move the eyeballs within
their sockets.
• The surface of the sclera is covered by a clear mucous
membrane; Conjunctiva. the lateral margin of the cornea
is contiguous with the conjunctiva.
 Anatomy of the eye
2. Choroid :
• A vascular layer that provides oxygen and nutrients to the
structures in the eye.
• It is darkly pigmented to absorb light rays at the back of the eyeball
• In the front the choroid layer is specialized into the iris (the
structure associated with eye color), the ciliary muscle, and the
zonular fibers.
• Circular and radial smooth muscle fibers of the iris determine the
diameter of the pupil, the anterior opening that allows light into the
eye.
• Activity of the ciliary muscle and the resulting tension on the
zonular fibers determines the shape of the crystalline lens just
behind the iris

• 3. Retina:
• It lines the posterior two thirds of the choroid is the retina
• It is the neural tissue containing the photoreceptors; It is an
extension of the brain lining the inner, posterior surface of the eye
 Anatomy of the eye

The crystalline lens:

• It is a transparent structure held in place by a
circular lens suspensary ligament (zonule).
•
• The zonule is attached to the ciliary body, which
contains circular muscle fibers and longitudinal
muscle fibers that attach near the corneoscleral
junction.

• In front of the lens is the pigmented and opaque iris.

• The iris, ciliary body, and choroid are collectively

called the uvea.

• Ciliary body is a part of the eye that includes the

ciliary muscle and the ciliary epithelial
 Anatomy of the eye
Protection of the eye:

1. The eye is well protected from injury by the bony walls of the orbit.
2. The sclera
3. The cornea is moistened and kept clear by tears that course from the lacrimal
gland in the upper portion of each orbit across the surface of the eye to empty
via the lacrimal duct into the nose.
4. Blinking helps keep the cornea moist and protect the eyes .
 Anatomy of the eye
• The intraocular fluid of the eye keeps the eyeball
distended by maintaining sufficient pressure in the
eyeball

• The intraocular fluid is divided into two portions:

1. aqueous humor : the freely flowing fluid that lies
in front of the lens and filled the anterior cavity of
the eye (both the anterior and posterior chamber)

2. vitreous humor (vitreous body) : the fluid that lies

between the posterior surface of the lens and the
retina (posterior cavity of the eye). It is a
gelatinous mass held together by a fine fibrillar
network composed primarily of greatly elongated
proteoglycan molecules. Water and dissolved
substances can diffuse slowly in the vitreous
humor, but there is little flow of fluid.
 Glucoma: self reading
• Glaucoma : is a medical condition characterized by increased intraocular pressure.

• If intraocular pressure rises above 25 to 30 mm Hg it can cause loss of vision if

maintained for long periods.

• Glaucoma is one of the most common causes of blindness

• The underlying case of high pressure : increased resistance of flow of aqueous fluid
through the trabecular space due to blockage of these spaces by white blood cells
and tissue debris, or, in chronic cases, due to fibrous occlusion of these spaces,
especially in older people

• The mechanism of blindness:

1. The high pressure compresses the axons of the optic nerve where they leave the
eyeball at the optic disc.
2. The high pressure compresses the retinal artery, thereby reducing nutrition to
the retina

• Treatment of Glaucoma : medical or surgical

 The sense of vision
• Refraction of light

• Refractive index of a transparent substance

• The refractive index of a transparent substance = ratio of the velocity of light in air to
the velocity in the substance

• Refraction of light rays at an interface between two media with different refractive
indices

• If the interface is perpendicular to the beam : their is no deviation in the course of the
rays, only there is a decrease in the velocity of transmission and wavelengths become
shorter

• If the rays pass through an angulated surface : there is bending of the rays at the
angulated interface, this is known as refraction.

• The degree of refraction increases as a function of:

1. The ratio of the two refractive indices of the two transparent media
2. The degree of angulation between the interface and the entering wave front
 The sense of vision

In the case of convex lens : If the lens has exactly the proper curvature, parallel light
rays passing through each part of the lens will be bent exactly enough so that all the rays
will pass through a single point, which is called the focal point.

The convex lens converges light rays, but the concave lens
diverges light rays
 The sense of vision

• The focal length of the lens : the distance

beyond a convex lens at which parallel rays
converge to a common focal point

• Parallel rays and diverging rays can be focused

at the same distance beyond a lens, provided
the lens changes its convexity

• f is the focal length of the lens for parallel rays,

a is the distance of the point source of light
from the lens, and b is the distance of focus on
the other side of the lens
 The sense of vision

The image formed by the convex lense is

upside down with respect to the original
object, and the two lateral sides of the
image are reversed
 The sense of vision

• The refractive power of a lens : Diopter

• The greater the ability of the lens to bend the light rays, the greater its refractive
power.

• The refractive power is measured in terms of diopters

• The refractive power in diopters of a convex lens = 1 meter / its focal length (f)

Example: When the lens is

accommodated for distant vision, the
total refractive power is 59 diopters
 The sense of vision
• The eye has four refractive interfaces:

1. the interface between air and the anterior surface of the cornea,
2. the interface between the posterior surface of the cornea and the aqueous humor
3. the interface between the aqueous humor and the anterior surface of the lens of
the eye
4. the interface between the posterior surface of the lens and the vitreous humor

• About two thirds of the refractive power of the eye is provided by the anterior
surface of the cornea, not by the eye lens

• The total refractive power of the lens of the eye, is only 20 diopters.

• The curvature of the internal lens can be increased markedly to provide

accommodation in response to nervous signals from the brain

• The lens system of the eye focus an image on the retina like the glass lens, and the
image is inverted and reversed but the brain reversed the image again.
 The sense of vision
• Accommodation: the ability to increase the refractive
power of the lens of the eye by changing the convexity of
the lens from moderately convex to a very convex lens

• The mechanism of accommodation :

1. In a young person, the lens has a strong elastic
capsule filled with viscous, proteineous, but
transparent fluid, so with no tension on its capsule,
the lens has an almost spherical shape, mainly due
to the elastic retraction of the lens capsule

2. The lens remains relatively flat under normal

conditions of the eye due to the presence of
suspensory ligaments that attach radially around the
lens

• Parasympathetic stimulation causes contraction of the

the ciliary muscle fibers, allowing the lens to become
thicker (more spherical) and increase its refractive power
 The sense of vision
Presbyopia:
• loss of accommodation by the lens

• In older, the lens grows larger and thicker and becomes far less elastic, partly
due to progressive denaturation of the lens proteins, this will decrease the
ability of the lens to change shape, thus decreasing their ability to
accommodate

• Person with presbyopia has eyes that remains focused permanently at an

almost constant distance, and they can not accommodate for near or far vision,
so he or she must wear bifocal glasses with the upper segment focused for far-
seeing and the lower segment focused for near-seeing
Errors of refraction
• Hyperopia (Farsightedness) ( you can see distant objects clearly,
but objects nearby may be blurry): when the ciliary muscle is
relaxed, the parallel light rays are not bent sufficiently to be
focused by the time they reach the retina

• Possible cause: usually due to too short eyeball, or occasionally due

to too weak lens system

• Contraction of the ciliary muscle increases the strength of the lens

allowing the farsighted person to focus distant objects on the retina

• Myopia (Nearsightedness) (you can see objects near to you clearly,

but objects farther away are blurry): when the ciliary muscle is
completely relaxed, the light rays from distant objects are focused
in front of the retina
• Possible cause : usually due to too long an eyeball, but it can result
from too much refractive power in the lens system of the eye

• Eye has no mechanism to decrease the refractive power of the lens

to less than that exists when the ciliary muscle is completely
Correction of myopia and hyperopia by use of lenses
 The sense of vision
Cataracts : self reading

• medical condition mainly occur in older people and characterized by cloudy

or opaque area or areas in the lens. In the early stage of cataract formation,
the cause is the denaturation of the proteins in some of the lens fibers, later
these same proteins coagulate to form opaque areas in place of the normal
transparent protein fibers.

• Cataract can affect light transmission which can seriously impaired vision

• Symptoms : faded colors, blurry vision, halos around light, trouble with
bright lights, and trouble seeing at night

• Treatment : surgical removal of the lens with lens replacement

 The sense of vision
Retina : it is the light sensitive area that contains the
photoreceptor cells (rods and cones)

The retina has nine functional layers, from the outside to the
inside as follows:
1. Pigmented layer
2. layer of rods and cones projecting to the pigment
3. outer nuclear layer containing the cell bodies of the rods
and cones
4. outer plexiform layer
5. inner nuclear layer
6. inner plexiform layer
7. ganglionic layer
8. layer of optic nerve fibers
9. inner limiting membrane.

The light must pass through most of these layers before reaching the cones and
rods region, this will decrease the visual acuity by the passage through non-
homogenous tissue, this occur in all part of the retina except the central region
of the retina, central foveal region
 The sense of vision
Foveal region of the retina:
• It is a small area in the center of the retina, occupying a total area a little
more than 1 square millimeter

• This area is especially capable of acute and detailed vision.

• The central fovea, only 0.3 millimeter in diameter, is composed almost

entirely of cones which have a special structure (long and slender bodies)
that helps their detection of detail in the visual image.
•
• In the foveal region, the blood vessels, ganglion cells, inner nuclear layer of
cells, and plexiform layers are all displaced to one side, allowing the light to
pass unimpeded to the cones.
 The sense of vision
The importance of the pigment layer of the retina :
1. The black pigment melanin in the pigment layer prevents light reflection
throughout the globe of the eyeball; which is important for clear vision.
Albinos, people who are hereditarily lacking in melanin pigment in all parts
of their bodies, have decrease visual activity

2. The pigmented layer is a storage site for vitamin A, an important precursor

of the photosensitive chemicals of the rods and cones

Blood supply of the retina:

• The inner layers of the retina are supplied by the central retinal artery

• The outer layers of the retina, especially the outer segments of the rods and
cones, are supplied with nutrient materials, especially oxygen, through the
diffusion from the choroid blood vessels
 Composition of the rods and cones
The major functional segments of either a rod or cone :
1. The outer segment:
• It contains the light-sensitive photochemical; rhodopsin
in rods and color pigments in cones.
• The differences between these photochemical is the
spectral sensitivity.
• The outer segment contains an infolded shelf of cell
membrane; disc.
• Each rod or cone contains as many as 1000 discs.
• The light sensitive chemicals are incorporated into the
membranes of the discs in the form of transmembrane
proteins.
• The pigment material accounts for 40% of the entire
mass of the outer segment

2. The inner segment contains the cytoplasm and organelles

especially mitochondria

3. The nucleus Cones are responsible for color vision,

while rods detect dim light and are mainly
4. The synaptic body connects with neuronal cells responsible for black and white vision and
vision in the dark
 The photochemistry of vision
• Rhodopsin, or visual purple is a combination of the
protein scotopsin and the carotenoid pigment
retinal (also called “retinene”), especially the 11-
cis retinal.

• Absorbtion of light by rhodopsin causes its

decomposition within a very small fraction of a
second

• metarhodopsin II, also called activated

rhodopsin, excites electrical changes in the rods,
and the rods then transmit the visual image into the
central nervous system in the form of optic nerve
action potential

• Night Blindness : occurs in any person with severe

vitamin A deficiency, since the amounts of retinal
and rhodopsin that can be formed are severely
depressed
 The sense of vision

The photoreceptor is an exception to the typical

sensory transduction process because it is the only
type of sensory cell that is relatively depolarized
(about −35 mV) when at rest (i.e., in the dark)
and hyperpolarized (to about −70 mV) when
exposed to its adequate stimulus.

The rod receptor potential is

hyperpolarizing potential
 The sense of vision
At the resting state without excitation:
• The NA/K pump in the inner segment continually pumps sodium from inside
the rod to the outside and potassium ions are pumped to the inside of the cell.
• Potassium ions leak out of the cell through non-gated potassium channels that
are confined to the inner segment of the rod.
• So the Na/K pump creates a negative potential on the inside of the entire cell.

In the dark state:

• The outer segment of the rod, where the photoreceptor discs are located, is
leaky to sodium ions that flow through cGMP-gated channels.
• Without excitation, the cGMP levels are high, allowing sodium ions to
continually leak back to the inside of the rod, and this neutralizes much of the
negativity on the inside of the entire cell.
• So, without excitation, the membrane potential of the rod is about − 40.
 The excitation cascade

1. Activation of the rhodopsin by lights leads to the

formation of metarhodopsin II; the active form of
rhodopsin

2. The activated rhodopsin functions as an enzyme that

activates many molecules of a protein present in an
inactive form in the membranes of the discs and cell
membrane of the rod; the transducin

3. The activated transducin activates many more molecules

of phosphodiesterase.

The photoreceptors have an extremely

sensitive chemical cascade that amplifies the
stimulatory effects about a millionfold
 The excitation cascade

4. Activated phosphodiesterase hydrolyzes many

molecules of cyclic guanosine monophosphate
(cGMP), leading to sodium channels closure,
but the Na/K pump continues to work at the
inner segment, so more sodium ions leave than
leak back in. This leads to hyperpolarization. At
maximum light intensity, the membrane
potential approaches −70 to −80 millivolts,
which is near the equilibrium potential for
potassium ions across the membrane

5. Within about a second, the rhodopsin kinase

enzyme which is always present in the rod,
inactivates the metarhodopsin II and the rods
returns back to the resting state
 Color vision
• The protein portions (opsins) in the cones is the photopsins which are slightly different
from the scotopsin of the rods.

• The retinal portion of all the visual pigments is exactly the same in the cones as in the
rods.

• There are three types of color pigments and one of them is present in each of the
different cones, thus making the cones selectively sensitive to different colors: blue,
green, or red. These color pigments are called, respectively, blue-sensitive pigment,
green-sensitive pigment, and red-sensitive pigment.
 Neural Circuitry of the Retina

• The ganglion cells, which transmit output signals from the

retina through the optic nerve into the brain

• Visual signals are transmitted through all retinal neurons

by electical conduction and not by action potential, except
in ganglion cells, which are the only neuronal cells that
transmit signal by action potential
 Differences between central and peripheral retina
• There are 100 million rods and 3 million cones in
each retina but only 1.6 million ganglion cells:
Convergence; 60 rods and 2 cones converge on each
ganglion cell

• As we be become closure to the fovea, fewer rods and

cones converge on each optic fiber. This increases the
acuity of vision in the central retina.

• In the center, in the central fovea, there are only

slender cones and no rods, and the number of optic
nerve fibers leaving the fovea is almost exactly equal
to the number of cones (no convergence); acuity very
high

• The peripheral retina has greater sensitivity to weak

light since the rods are 30-300 more sensitive than
cones, and high degree of convergence occurs
 Lateral inhibition

• It is essential to allow high visual accuracy in transmitting contrast borders

in the visual image

• Retinal neuronal cells that are responsible for lateral inhibition : Horizontal
cells (common) and amacrine cells

• Bipolar cells: depolarizing and hyperpolarizing cells: some bipolar cells

depolarize when the rods and cones are excited, while other bipolar cells
are hyperpolarized when the the rods and cones are excited.
 Automatic regulation of retinal sensitivity:
Light and dark adaptation

• Light Adaptation : exposure to light will

transform large portions of the photochemicals
in both the rods and the cones into retinal and
opsins, and much of the retinal of both the rods
and the cones will have been converted into
vitamin A. Consequently the concentrations of
the photosensitive chemicals remaining in the
rods and cones are considerably reduced, and the
sensitivity of the eye to light is correspondingly
reduced.

• Dark adaptation : resting in in darkness for a

long time leads to conversion of the retinal and
opsins in the rods and cones back into the light-
sensitive pigments. Furthermore, vitamin A is
converted back into retinal to increase
lightsensitive pigments.
 Retinal detachment: self reading
• detachment of the neural retina from the pigment epithelium

• Possible causes of retinal detachment :

 injury to the eyeball that leads to accumulation fluid or blood
between the neural retina and the pigment epithelium.

 Contracture of fine collagenous fibrils in the vitreous humor,

which pull areas of the retina toward the interior of the globe.

• Since the neuronal retina has its own blood supply through the retinal
artery the detached retina can resist degeneration for days and can
become functional again if it is surgically replaced in its normal
relation with the pigment epithelium. However, If it is not replaced
soon, the retina will be damaged and can not function normally even
after surgical repair
 Visual cortex
The primary visual cortex has six distinct layers. In addition, it is organized structurally into several
million vertical columns of neuronal cells where each column represents a functional unit