Ocular Anatomy

A Vision Teacher s Guide s

The Human Eye

Eyelid
In addition to tear spreading, p g the eyelid is primarily p responsible for corneal nutrition Also provides protection to cornea Lashes offer additional protection

Lacrimal System/Tear Film

Lacrimal system is responsible for tear production and drainage Made up of 3 layers Created primarily by lacrimal apparatus and meibomian glands Lubricate the eyeball, provides oxygen/nutrition for cornea has cornea, antibacterial properties and helps wash away debris Also have unique composition which keeps surface of cornea slick

Lacrimal System

Cornea
Made up of 5 layers S Specialized T i li d Transparent Ti t Tissue Primarily responsible for refracting light More nerve endings than ner e anywhere else in the body
Protection to the eye Does more of the job than the lens No blood vessels

The only part of the eye that is transplanted from one person to another

Aqueous humor
Fills space between cornea and iris Continuously produced b ciliary b d C ti l d d by ili body Flows into chamber through the pupil Drains from eye through trabecular meshwork to canal of schlemm Nourishes the cornea and lens Gi Gives front of eyeball f f t f b ll form and shape d h
Anterior chamber is area between the cornea and the iris: filled with aqueous P t i chamber is the area behind the iris Posterior h b i th b hi d th i i and in front of the lens: filled with aqueous

Limbus
Juncture between the cornea and the sclera Nourishes peripheral corneaassists in corneal wound healing Pathway for aqueous outflow (contains trabecular meshwork and canal of schlemm)

Conjunctiva
Thin translucent mucous membrane starts at the limbus and b t t t th li b d covers the sclera and inner surface of the eyelid Has some responsibility of tear production Subject to infectionproblems from contact lens use C Can be d b degraded by d db environmental conditions heat, wind, dust, etc.

Sclera
Whites of the eye y Made up of 3 layers Tough fibrous tissue: site of Tough, extra-ocular muscle attachment Opaque...allows no light to enter Subject to inflammation

Iris
The colored part of the eyeunique to every individual like a fingerprint
Color is dependent on the amount of pigment

A diaphragm, the iris has tiny muscles diaphragm that control the light levels in the eye Has 2 layers Pupil is located in the center of the iris
pupil = hole: it is not an eye structure per se

Lens
Transparent, biconvex structure, held in place by ciliary zonules Composed of 6 layers Refracts light g Nutrition comes from aqueous humorinsoluble deposits of proteins build up over time = cataracts
A clouding of the lens and capsule

Live long enough and you WILL have some degree of cataract cataracts also caused by other agents

Ciliary body
Connects the choroid with the iris H three parts including: Has th t i l di
The ciliary muscle is ring shaped muscle that controls the shape of the lens ( l (accommodation) d ti ) The ciliary process is the attachment site for the zonules and produces the aqueous iin th pars plicata the li t The ciliary ring is attached to the choroid and is composed of the pars plana. plana The pars plana has no known function in the post-fetal eye thus this is a safe area through which surgical instruments may be inserted

Zonules
Attach the lens to the ciliary y body May become broken or stretched causing the lens to move out-of-place out of place

Vitreous
A thick, transparent gel like substance that fills y giving it form and g the center of the eyeball, g shape A canal runs through the vitreous from optic disk to the lens. It is a developmental leftover from the hyaloid artery. Usually regresses but may persist and result in floaters May see reference to hyaloid membrane. This transparent tissue surrounds the vitreous and separates it from the retina Central retinal veins and arteries extend in bundles, exit and enter respectively through the optic nerve

Choroid
A brown vascular sheet lying y g between the sclera and the retina This is the blood supply for the retina

Retina
Most internal layer of eye, facing the vitreous Converts light energy into electrical energy which is then sent to the brain via the optic nerve Actually an extension of brain tissue Composed of 10 layerscontains photoreceptors: cones near center cones, (responsible for seeing detail and color) and rods, in periphery (responsible for seeing in low light and seeing g g g movement) Point of sharpest vision is in the fovea; located in the center of the macula

Ora Serrata
A serrated juncture between j the retina and ciliary body g marking the transition between non-sensitive tissue p and the retinal portion with many layers and specialized p photoreceptor cells p

Intra-ocular muscles
Purpose is to move eyes Maintain binocularity y 6 muscles
medial rectus (MR)moves the eye toward the nose lateral rectus (LR)moves the eye away from the nose superior rectus (SR)primarily moves the eye upward and (SR) primarily secondarily rotates the top of the eye toward the nose inferior rectus (IR)primarily moves the eye downward and secondarily rotates the top of the eye away from the nose superior oblique (SO) primarily rotates the top of the eye (SO)primarily toward the nose and secondarily moves the eye downward inferior oblique (IO)primarily rotates the top of the eye away from the nose and secondarily moves the eye upward d

Optic Nerve
Purpose is for energy transmission to brain S bj t to underdevelopment, d Subject t d d l t damage, inflammation Contains over 1 million nerve fibersonce severed cannot be reconnected=no eye transplant Upon examination only the head can be seen by doctor. Should appear as yellowish pink, flat and with distinct margins The cup to disk ratio is evaluation as a measure of healthincrease in size of cup may indicate elevated pressure

Optic Nerve Pathways/Visual Cortex

Message is carried down the optic nerve through pathways to occipital cortex; here vision becomes sight At the optic chiasm, the nasal nerve fibers cross; temporall nerve fibers go fib t fib straight back to cortex; this arrangement impacts on visual fields Results in visual field losses can be predicted based on where damage is p located on the optic nerve When damage is located anterior of the optic chiasm; it is likely there will be a cortical component to the field loss