Anatomy of the Eye

Prepared by: Ahmed Bayazeed Spervised by: prof.mahmoud abdel moneim

Sclera
The white part of the eyeball is called the sclera (say: sklairuh). The sclera is made of a tough material and has the important job of covering most of the eyeball. Think of the sclera as your eyeball's outer coat.

Cont
Look very closely at the white of the eye, and you'll see lines that look like tiny pink threads. These are blood vessels, the tiny tubes that deliver blood, to the sclera.

CORNEA
The part of the sclera in front of the colored part of the eye is called the cornea (say: kor-nee-uh). Unlike the rest of the sclera, which is white, the cornea is transparent, or completely clear, which lets light travel through it. The cornea helps the eye focus as light makes its way through. It is a very important part of the eye, but you can hardly see it because it's made of clear tissue. Like clear glass, the cornea gives your eye a clear window to view the world through

 On cross section, the cornea contains five distinct layers. The outside layer is Epithelial cells. Bowmans layer. Stroma. Descemets membrane. Endothelium is the final inner layer.

IRIS
The iris (say: eye-riss) is the colored part of the eye called the iris.It controls light levels inside the eye similar to the aperture on a camera. The round opening in the center of the iris is called the pupil. The iris is embedded with tiny muscles that dilate (widen) and constrict (narrow) the pupil size.

Cont
The iris is flat and divides the front of the eye (anterior chamber) from the back of the eye (posterior chamber). Its color comes from microscopic pigment cells called melanin. The color, texture, and patterns of each person's iris are as unique as a fingerprint.

Anterior chamber
Between the iris and cornea is the anterior (say: an-teer-ee-ur) chamber. This chamber is filled with a special transparent fluid that gives the eye oxygen, protein, and glucose (a type of sugar in the body) to keep it healthy.

PUPIL
The iris is a muscle. This allows the iris to control how much light goes through the pupil (say: pyoo-pul). The pupil is the black circle in the center of the iris, and it lets light enter the eye. The pupils will get smaller when a light shines near them and they'll open wider when the light is gone.

Cont
Its size is generally altered only by actions of the sphincter and dilator muscles, although it can be changed by medications and surgery. An average size can be estimated at 2 mm to 4 mm.

 After light enters the pupil, it hits the lens. The lens sits behind the iris and is clear and colorless. The lens' job is to focus light rays on the back of the eyeball - a part called the retina (say: reh-tin-uh).

Retina
Your retina is in the very back of the eye, past the vitreous body. Though it's smaller than a dime, it holds millions of cells that are sensitive to light. The retina takes the light the eye receives and changes it into nerve signals so the brain can understand what the eye is seeing.

Rods and Cones

The retina uses special cells called rods and cones to process light. Just how many rods and cones does your retina have? How about 120 million rods and 7 million cones - in each eye! Rods and cones are most sensitive to yellow-green light.

RODS
Rods see in black, white, and shades of gray and tell us the form or shape that something has. Rods can't tell the difference between colors, but they are super-sensitive, allowing us to see when it's very dark.

CONES
Cones sense color and they need more light than rods to work well. Cones are most helpful in normal or bright light.

Cont
The retina has three types of cones red, green, and blue - to help you see different ranges of color. Together, these cones can sense combinations of light waves that enable our eyes to see millions of colors.

Ciliary muscle

The lens is suspended in the eye by a bunch of fibers. These fibers are attached to a muscle called the ciliary (say: sih-lee-air-ee) muscle. The ciliary muscle has the amazing job of changing the shape of the lens.

ciliary body
The ciliary body lies just behind the iris iris. Attached to the ciliary body are tiny fiber "guy wires" called zonules. One function of the ciliary body is the production of aqueous, the clear fluid that fills the front of the eye. It also controls accommodation by changing the shape of the crystalline lens. When the ciliary body contracts, the zonules relax. This allows the lens to thicken, increasing the eye's ability to focus up close.

Aqueous Humor

The aqueous is the thin, watery fluid that fills the space between thecornea and the iris (anterior chamber). It is continually produced by the ciliary body, the part of the eye that lies just behind the iris. This fluid nourishes the cornea and the lens and gives the eye it's shape.

VITREOUS BODY
The biggest part of the eye sits behind the lens and is called the vitreous (say: vihtree-us) body. The vitreous body forms two thirds of the eye's volume and gives the eye its shape. It's filled with a clear, jelly-like material called the vitreous humor. In eye, after light passes through the lens, it shines straight through the vitreous humor to the back of the eye.

Reflected light
Reaches the retina where it falls onto the cones and rods. The critical part of the imaging process is the lens. The lens gives the detailed information about the size, shape, and color of an object.

Lens
The crystalline lens is located just behind the iris. Its purpose is to focus light onto the retina. The nucleus, the innermost part of the lens, is surrounded by softer material called the cortex. The lens is encased in a capsular-like bag and suspended within the eye by tiny "guy wires" called zonules.

Cont
In young people, the lens changes shape to adjust for close or distance vision. This is called accommodation. With age, the lens gradually hardens, diminishing the ability to accommodate.

Protection Because the eye is such an

The eyebrows are the strips of hair above your eyes which prevent sweat from running into them.

important and complex part of our body, we have many features which protect the eye.

Eyelashes help keep the eye clean by collecting small dirt and dust particles floating through the air. The eyelashes also protect the eye from the sun's and other light's glare. The eyelids sweep dirt from the surface of the eye. The eyelid also protects the eye from injury.

Tears are sterile drops of clean water which constantly bathe the front of the eye, keeping it clean and moist.

Extraocular Muscles
The six tiny muscles that surround the eye and control its movements are known as the extraocular muscles (EOMs). The primary function of the four rectus muscles is to control the eye's movements from left to right and up and down. The two oblique muscles move the eye rotate the eyes inward and outward. All six muscles work in unison to move the eye. As one contracts, the opposing muscle relaxes, creating smooth movements. In addition to the muscles of one eye working together in a coordinated effort, the muscles of both eyes work in unison so that the eyes are always aligned.

The six tiny muscles that surround the eye

Superior rectus moves eye up Inferior rectus moves eye down Medial rectus moves eye in (a-dduction) Lateral rectus moves eye out (a-bduction) Inferior oblique moves eye up when it is in an adducted position; also extorts the eye. Superior oblique moves eye down when it is adducted; also intorts the eye.

Isolating Extraocular Muscles

To the Brain
Think of the optic nerve as the great messenger in the back of your eye. The rods and cones of the retina change the colors and shapes you see into millions of nerve messages. Then, the optic nerve carries those messages from the eye to the brain! The optic nerve serves as a highspeed telephone line connecting the eye to the brain.

Eye Fun Facts

Most people blink every 2-10 seconds.Each time you blink, you shut your eyes for 0.3 seconds, which means your eyes are closed at least 30 minutes a day just from blinking. If you only had one eye, everything would appear twodimensional. (This does not work just by closing one eye.) Owls can see a mouse moving over 150 feet away with light no brighter than a candle. The reason cat's and dog's eyes glow at night is because of silver mirrors in the back of their eyes called the tapetum. This makes it easier for them to see at night. An ostrich has eyes that are two inches across. Each eye weighs more than their brain. A chameleon's eyes can look in opposite directions at the same time. A newborn baby sees the world upside down because it takes some time for the baby's brain to learn to turn the picture rightside up.

Reference
http://www.stlukeseye.com/anatomy / http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/body/ eye_noSW.html http://www.allaboutvision.com/resour ces/anatomy.htm