The retina is responsible for converting light entering the eye into nerve impluses. The retina is very sensitive to light and lines the inside of the eye. It is occupied by approximately 127 million light receptors.
The retina consists of a total of six cell layers with different functions. The light-active sensory cells are the so-called cones and rods. While the cones are responsible for color vision, rods are responsible for light-dark perception.
Interestingly, however, the cones and rods are not located on the outside of the retina, but on the inner side, which faces away from the light. Thus, this so-called photoactive area is protected from overstimulation, since the light is first transmitted through the anterior retinal layers.
Anatomy of the human eye
Human eye
The eye is one of our most important sensory organs for orienting ourselves in our environment. In its structure and functioning, the eye can be compared to a camera lens: Light rays ...
Outer eye shell
The outer shell is formed by the transparent cornea and the opaque white sclera. Both tissues give the eye its shape and strength. The conjunctiva covers the sclera in front ...
Conjunctiva (lat. Tunica conjunctiva) & Eyelid
The conjunctiva "connecting garment" (lat. Tunica conjunctiva) is a mucous membrane of the anterior segment of the eye and surrounds the cornea and the visible white part of the eye. With each blink, the conjunctiva distributes ...
Ciliary muscle (lat. Musculus ciliaris)
The ciliary muscle belongs to the inner eye muscles and is located in the ciliary body (lat. corpus ciliare) - also called the ray body. The ciliary body is a section of the middle eye skin and, besides the suspension ...
Posterior eye chamber (lat. Camera posterior bulbi)
The posterior chamber of the eye is smaller than the anterior chamber. It extends from the iris to the vitreous body - in it lies the lens. The aqueous humor - which covers both the posterior ...
Cornea (lat. Cornea)
Light enters the eye through the cornea, where it is then transmitted to the lens and pupil. The cornea is therefore also called the "window of the eye" and is a ...
Pupil (lat. pupilla): Eye hole of the eye
The pupil is the circular aperture in the center of the iris. Light enters the interior of the eye through the pupil. Its size is regulated by the surrounding iris, depending ...
Rainbow skin (lat. Iris)
The iris is the colorful part of the eye and is as individual as a fingerprint. The so-called iris, or "colorful aperture" of the eye, can be changed by an individual pigment distribution in ...
Middle eye shell
The middle shell consists of three sections with specific functions. The iris adjusts the incidence of light. The ciliary body produces aqueous humor and regulates the curvature of the lens for near or ...