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27 Physiology of Visual Analyzer
27 Physiology of Visual Analyzer
27 Physiology of Visual Analyzer
analyzer
The eyes mediate sight
Function
Sensory organ for sight
Detects light and converts it into neural responses
that the brain interprets
EYE
External Eye Structures
The eyes are complex sense organs that
have evolved from primitive light-
sensitive spots on the surface of
invertebrates.
Within its protective casing, each eye
has a layer of receptors, a lens system
that focuses light on these receptors, and
a system of nerves that conducts
impulses from the receptors to the brain.
Lacrimal Apparatus
Visual Pathways & Fields
Objects reflect light
Rays refracted by cornea, aqueous humor,
lens, vitreous body and onto retina.
Light stimulus is changed to nerve impulses,
travel thru optic nerve to visual cortex in
occipital lobe
Image on retina is upside down & reversed.
At the optic chiasm retinal fibers cross over.
Right side of brain looks at left side of world.
Parts of the Eye
Sclera: a tough white layer of connective
tissue that covers all of the eyeball except
the cornea.
Conjunctiva: external cover of the
of the eyeball
Bounded by the Iris
Pupil
The iris controls
eye
Iris and Pupil
Iris = flat, round, regular, even color
bilaterally.
Pupils = PERRLA
Resting size norm = 3-5mm
5% population have pupils of 2 diff. Sizes
called Anisocoria
** Visual Reflexes:
# papillary light reflex: is a normal
constriction of pupil when light shines on
retina( a direct reflex & a consensual reflex).
Mechanism: light →retina → optic
Nerve(II)__ efferent or sensory → midbrain
→ CN III (oculomotor) _ afferent(motor) →
constriction of iris muscles for both eyes.
Direct reflex → same eye _Consensual
reflex → opposite eye.
Lenses of the Eye
Cornea
Crystalline Lens
Primary function = focus the image on
the back of the retina
Focus
Refraction
Bending of the path of a light wave as it
passes across the boundary separating
two media
Cause:
Change in the speed of the light wave
No change in speed = no refraction!
Material A
(fast)
Material B (slow)
Focusing point sources of light.
(a) When diverging light rays enter a dense medium at an angle to its
convex
surface, refraction bends them inward.
Fig. 49.13
Vision
Rods and Cones
synapse with
nuerons called
bipolar cells
Bipolar cells
synapse with
galgion cells of
optic nerve
Near the posterior pole of the
eye is a yellowish pigmented
spot, the macula lutea. This
marks the location of the
fovea centralis, a thinned-
out, rod-free portion of the
retina that is present in
humans and other primates. In
it, the
cones are densely packed, and
each synapses to a single
bipolar cell, which, in turn,
synapses on a single ganglion
cell, providing a direct pathway
to the brain. There are very
few overlying cells and no
blood vessels. Consequently,
the fovea is the point where
visual acuity is greatest
RECEPTORS
Visual Acuity
Visual acuity is the degree to which the
details and contours of objects are
perceived, and it is usually defined in
terms of the shortest distance by which
two lines can be separated and still be
perceived as two lines. Clinically,
visual acuity is often determined by the
use of the familiar Snellen letter charts
viewed at a distance of 20 ft (6m).