Topic-2

Physiology of
Eye

Optics of Vision
The eye anatomy
The eye

 Highly specialized organ of

photoreception
= the process by which light energy from
enviroment produces changes in
specialized nerve cells in the retina

action potentials
via optic nerves
brain
The eye

• Systems focusing and transmitting the

light onto the retina
• cornea, lens, iris, and ciliary body

• Systems important for nourishing and

supporting the tissues of the eye
• choroid, aqueous outflow systems, lacrimal
apparatus
The eye as a camera
 Lens system
 Four refractive interfaces:
 Air and anterior surface of cornea
 Posterior corneal surface and aqueous humor
 aqueous humor and anterior surface of the lens
 Posterior surface of the lens and vitreous
 Variable apertur system (pupil)
 Film (retina)
Cornea
 The surface of the cornea (air-tissue
interface) and the tear film is responsible for
most of the refraction of the eye
 The most important property: Transparency
 Regularity and smoothness of the epithelium
 Avascularity
 Regular arrangement of the extracellular and
cellular components
 State of hydration
Lens
 A highly organized system of specialized cells (so-
called lens fibres), enclosed in its elastic capsule
(thickened basement membrane)
 The transpareny is necessary (maintaining by
shape, precious arrangment, internal structure and
biochemistry, normally avascular)
Accomodation
 Ciliary muscles (anterior two thirds of the ciliary
body)
 Lens zonules (suspensory ligament)
 Elastic nature of the lens capsule
Accommodation
Presbyopia
 The range of dioptric power diminishes with age (8
at 40 years, 1-2 by 60 years)
 The elasticity of the lens markedly decreases +
atrophy of the ciliary muscles
the lens fails to change shape during
accomodation
decreasing ability to read (use near vision)
The pupilary aperture
 The function of the iris is to control the amount of
light entering the eye
Reduced eye
 To simplify the optics of the normal eye
a single lens is consider

 17 mm in front of the retina

 59 diopters
Regions of retina
Structure of the retina
Retinal pigment epithelium
• Maitaining adhesion of the neurosensory retina
• Providing a selectively permeable barrier between the
choroid and neurosensory retina
• Phagocytosis of rod (to a lesser extent cone) outer segments
• Synthesis of interphotoreceptor matrix
• Absorbtion of light and reducing of light scatter within the
eye (improving image resolution; pigment melanin)
• Transport and storage of metabolities and vitamins (espec.
vitamin A)
Photoreceptors
Bipolar cells
• 2 types
• Depolarizing bipolar cells – ON cells
(retina specific metabotropic glutamate receptor; open
ion channels)
• Hyperpolarizing bipolar cells – OFF cells
(ionotropic glutamate receptor; close ion channels)
Horizontal and amacrine cells
• Modify the signal in bipolar cells and ganglion cells
• Release of excitatory neurotransmitter (horizotal cells –
glutamate; amacrine cells - acetylcholin)
• Release of inhibitory neurotransmitter
(horizontal and amacrine cells; GABA)
Ganglion cells
• Transmit the signal by their axons to the brain
• The major transmitter is glutamate
• Transmit continuous impulses in basic rate
• Signal compression
• Functionally diverse
Visual acuity
• A measure of the ability to discriminate two stimuli
separated in space
• Thanks to complexities of retinal neuronal synaptic
organization, the resolving power can be as great as
0,5 min of arc (30s)
Color vision
• The Young-Helmholtz theory
• 3 different types of cones are present in the retina
(each of which responds maximally to a different
color)
Color vision

• The ratio of stimulation of the three different types

of cones
nervous system interprets as the sensation
of a specific color
Ligth detection
• Depends:
• Backround illumination
• Summation
• Wavelenght of the light stimulus
• Dark adaptation
• Optical qualities of the image-gathering system
Dark adaptation
• Change in concentrations of rhodopsin or color
photochemicals
• Changes in pupillary size
• Neural adaptation
Visual pathway
1) complete loss
of vision in the
right eye
2. Bitemporal
hemianopia
3. Homonymous
hemianopia
4.
Quadrantanopia
5.& 6.
Quadrantanopia
with macular
sparing.
Visual pathway