Human Eye: General Properties
Human Eye: General Properties
Human Eye: General Properties
Human eye
The human eye
1. vitreous body 2. ora serrata 3. ciliary muscle 4. ciliary zonules 5. Schlemm's canal 6. pupil 7. anterior chamber 8. cornea 9. iris 10.
lens cortex 11. lens nucleus 12. ciliary process 13. conjunctiva 14. inferior oblique muscle 15. inferior rectus muscle 16. medial rectus
muscle 17. retinal arteries and veins 18. optic disc 19. dura mater 20. central retinal artery 21. central retinal vein 22. optic nerve 23.
vorticose vein 24. bulbar sheath 25. macula 26. fovea 27. sclera 28. choroid 29. superior rectus muscle 30. retina
The human eye is an organ that reacts to light and has several purposes. As a conscious sense organ, the mammalian
eye allows vision. Rod and cone cells in the retina allow conscious light perception and vision including color
differentiation and the perception of depth. The human eye can distinguish about 10 million colors.
Similar to the eyes of other mammals, the human eye's non-image-forming photosensitive ganglion cells in the retina
receive light signals which affect adjustment of the size of the pupil, regulation and suppression of the hormone
melatonin and entrainment of the body clock.
General properties
The eye is not shaped like a perfect sphere, rather it is a fused
two-piece unit. The smaller frontal unit, more curved, called the cornea
is linked to the larger unit called the sclera. The corneal segment is
typically about 8 mm (0.3 in) in radius. The sclerotic chamber
constitutes the remaining five-sixths; its radius is typically about
12 mm. The cornea and sclera are connected by a ring called the
limbus. The iris – the color of the eye – and its black center, the pupil,
are seen instead of the cornea due to the cornea's transparency. To see
inside the eye, an ophthalmoscope is needed, since light is not reflected Blood vessels can be seen within the sclera, as
well as a strong limbal ring around the iris.
out. The fundus (area opposite the pupil) shows the characteristic pale
optic disk (papilla), where vessels entering the eye pass across and
optic nerve fibers depart the globe.
Dimensions
The dimensions differ among adults by only one or two millimeters. The vertical measure, generally less than the
horizontal distance, is about 24 mm among adults, at birth about 16–17 millimeters (about 0.65 inch). The eyeball
grows rapidly, increasing to 22.5–23 mm (approx. 0.89 in) by three years of age. By age 13, the eye attains its full
size. The typical adult eye has an anterior to posterior diameter of 24 millimeters, a volume of six cubic centimeters
(0.4 cu. in.), and a mass of 7.5 grams (weight of 0.25 oz.).[citation needed]
Human eye 2
Components
The eye is made up of three coats, enclosing three transparent structures. The outermost layer, known as the fibrous
tunic, is composed of the cornea and sclera. The middle layer, known as the vascular tunic or uvea, consists of the
choroid, ciliary body, and iris. The innermost is the retina, which gets its circulation from the vessels of the choroid
as well as the retinal vessels, which can be seen in an ophthalmoscope.
Within these coats are the aqueous humour, the vitreous body, and the flexible lens. The aqueous humour is a clear
fluid that is contained in two areas: the anterior chamber between the cornea and the iris, and the posterior chamber
between the iris and the lens. The lens is suspended to the ciliary body by the suspensory ligament (Zonule of Zinn),
made up of fine transparent fibers. The vitreous body is a clear jelly that is much larger than the aqueous humour
present behind the lens, and the rest is bordered by the sclera, zonule, and lens. They are connected via the pupil.[1]
Dynamic range
The retina has a static contrast ratio of around 100:1 (about 6.5 f-stops). As soon as the eye moves (saccades) it
re-adjusts its exposure both chemically and geometrically by adjusting the iris which regulates the size of the pupil.
Initial dark adaptation takes place in approximately four seconds of profound, uninterrupted darkness; full adaptation
through adjustments in retinal chemistry (the Purkinje effect) is mostly complete in thirty minutes. Hence, a dynamic
contrast ratio of about 1,000,000:1 (about 20 f-stops) is possible.[2] [3]. The process is nonlinear and multifaceted, so
an interruption by light merely starts the adaptation process over again. Full adaptation is dependent on good blood
flow; thus dark adaptation may be hampered by poor circulation, and vasoconstrictors like tobacco. [citation needed]
The eye includes a lens not dissimilar to lenses found in optical instruments such as cameras and the same principles
can be applied. The pupil of the human eye is its aperture; the iris is the diaphragm that serves as the aperture stop.
Refraction in the cornea causes the effective aperture (the entrance pupil) to differ slightly from the physical pupil
diameter. The entrance pupil is typically about 4 mm in diameter, although it can range from 2 mm (f/8.3) in a
brightly lit place to 8 mm (f/2.1) in the dark. The latter value decreases slowly with age; older people's eyes
sometimes dilate to not more than 5-6mm. [citation needed]
Field of view
The approximate field of view of an individual human eye is 95° away from the nose, 75° downward, 60° toward the
nose, and 60° upward, allowing humans to have an almost 180-degree forward-facing horizontal field of view.[citation
needed]
With eyeball rotation of about 90° (head rotation excluded, peripheral vision included), horizontal field of
view is as high as 270°. About 12–15° temporal and 1.5° below the horizontal is the optic nerve or blind spot which
is roughly 7.5° high and 5.5° wide.[4]
Eye irritation
Eye irritation has been defined as “the magnitude of any stinging,
scratching, burning, or other irritating sensation from the eye”. It is a
common problem experienced by people of all ages. Related eye
symptoms and signs of irritation are discomfort, dryness, excess
tearing, itching, grating, sandy sensation, smarting, ocular fatigue,
pain, scratchiness, soreness, redness, swollen eyelids, and tiredness,
etc. These eye symptoms are reported with intensities from severe to
mild. It has been suggested that these eye symptoms are related to
different causal mechanisms.
Bloodshot eyeball
Human eye 3
Several suspected causal factors in our environment have been studied so far. One hypothesis is that indoor air
pollution may cause eye and airway irritation. Eye irritation depends somewhat on destabilization of the outer-eye
tear film, in which the formation of dry spots result in such ocular discomfort as dryness. Occupational factors are
also likely to influence the perception of eye irritation. Some of these are lighting (glare and poor contrast), gaze
position, a limited number of breaks, and a constant function of accommodation, musculoskeletal burden, and
impairment of the visual nervous system. Another factor that may be related is work stress. In addition,
psychological factors have been found in multivariate analyses to be associated with an increase in eye irritation
among VDU users. Other risk factors, such as chemical toxins/irritants (e.g. amines, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde,
acrolein, N-decane, VOCs, ozone, pesticides and preservatives, allergens, etc.) might cause eye irritation as well.
Certain volatile organic compounds that are both chemically reactive and airway irritants may cause eye irritation.
Personal factors (e.g. use of contact lenses, eye make-up, and certain medications) may also affect destabilization of
the tear film and possibly result in more eye symptoms. Nevertheless, if airborne particles alone should destabilize
the tear film and cause eye irritation, their content of surface-active compounds must be high. An integrated
physiological risk model with blink frequency, destabilization, and break-up of the eye tear film as inseparable
phenomena may explain eye irritation among office workers in terms of occupational, climate, and eye-related
physiological risk factors.
There are two major measures of eye irritation. One is blink frequency which can be observed by human behavior.
The other measures are break up time, tear flow, hyperemia (redness, swelling), tear fluid cytology, and epithelial
damage (vital stains) etc., which are human beings’ physiological reactions. Blink frequency is defined as the
number of blinks per minute and it is associated with eye irritation. Blink frequencies are individual with mean
frequencies of < 2-3 to 20-30 blinks/minute, and they depend on environmental factors including the use of contact
lenses. Dehydration, mental activities, work conditions, room temperature, relative humidity, and illumination all
influence blink frequency. Break-up time (BUT) is another major measure of eye irritation and tear film stability. It
is defined as the time interval (in seconds) between blinking and rupture. BUT is considered to reflect the stability of
the tear film as well. In normal persons, the break-up time exceeds the interval between blinks, and, therefore, the
tear film is maintained. Studies have shown that blink frequency is correlated negatively with break-up time. This
phenomenon indicates that perceived eye irritation is associated with an increase in blink frequency since the cornea
and conjunctiva both have sensitive nerve endings that belong to the first trigeminal branch.[5] Other evaluating
methods, such as hyperemia, cytology etc. have increasingly been used to assess eye irritation.
There are other factors that related to eye irritation as well. Three major factors that influence the most are indoor air
pollution, contact lenses and gender differences. Field studies have found that the prevalence of objective eye signs
is often significantly altered among office workers in comparisons with random samples of the general population.
These research results might indicate that indoor air pollution has played an important role in causing eye irritation.
There are more and more people wearing contact lens now and dry eyes appear to be the most common complaint
among contact lens wearers. Although both contact lens wearers and spectacle wearers experience similar eye
irritation symptoms, dryness, redness, and grittiness have been reported far more frequently among contact lens
wearers and with greater severity than among spectacle wearers. Studies have shown that incidence of dry eyes
increases with age.[6] especially among women. Tear film stability (e.g. break-up time) is significantly lower among
women than among men. In addition, women have a higher blink frequency while reading.[7] Several factors may
contribute to gender differences. One is the use of eye make-up. Another reason could be that the women in the
reported studies have done more VDU work than the men, including lower grade work. A third often-quoted
explanation is related to the age-dependent decrease of tear secretion, particularly among women after 40 years of
age.,
In a study conducted by UCLA, the frequency of reported symptoms in industrial buildings was investigated. The
study's results were that eye irritation was the most frequent symptom in industrial building spaces, at 81%. Modern
office work with use of office equipment has raised concerns about possible adverse health effects. Since the 1970s,
Human eye 4
reports have linked mucosal, skin, and general symptoms to work with self-copying paper. Emission of various
particulate and volatile substances has been suggested as specific causes. These symptoms have been related to Sick
building syndrome (SBS), which involves symptoms such as irritation to the eyes, skin, and upper airways, headache
and fatigue.
Many of the symptoms described in SBS and multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) resemble the symptoms known to
be elicited by airborne irritant chemicals. A repeated measurement design was employed in the study of acute
symptoms of eye and respiratory tract irritation resulting from occupational exposure to sodium borate dusts. The
symptom assessment of the 79 exposed and 27 unexposed subjects comprised interviews before the shift began and
then at regular hourly intervals for the next six hours of the shift, four days in a row. Exposures were monitored
concurrently with a personal real time aerosol monitor. Two different exposure profiles, a daily average and short
term (15 minute) average, were used in the analysis. Exposure-response relations were evaluated by linking
incidence rates for each symptom with categories of exposure.
Acute incidence rates for nasal, eye, and throat irritation, and coughing and breathlessness were found to be
associated with increased exposure levels of both exposure indices. Steeper exposure-response slopes were seen
when short term exposure concentrations were used. Results from multivariate logistic regression analysis suggest
that current smokers tended to be less sensitive to the exposure to airborne sodium borate dust.
Several actions can be taken to prevent eye irritation—
• trying to maintain normal blinking by avoiding room temperatures that are too high; avoiding relative humidities
that are too high or too low, because they reduce blink frequency or may increase water evaporation
• trying to maintain an intact tear film by the following actions. 1) blinking and short breaks may be beneficial for
VDU users. Increase these two actions might help maintain the tear film. 2) downward gazing is recommended to
reduce the ocular surface area and water evaporation. 3) the distance between the VDU and keyboard should be
kept as short as possible to minimize evaporation from the ocular surface area by a low direction of the gaze. And
4) blink training can be beneficial.
In addition, other measures are proper lid hygiene, avoidance of eye rubbing, and proper use of personal products
and medication. Eye make-up should be used with care.
The paraphilic practice of oculolinctus, or eyeball-licking, may also cause irritations, infections, or damage to the
eye.
Eye movement
The visual system in the brain is too slow to process information if
images are slipping across the retina at more than a few degrees per
second.[8] Thus, for humans to be able to see while moving, the brain
must compensate for the motion of the head by turning the eyes.
Another complication for vision in frontal-eyed animals is the
development of a small area of the retina with a very high visual
acuity. This area is called the fovea centralis, and covers about 2
degrees of visual angle in people. To get a clear view of the world, the
brain must turn the eyes so that the image of the object of regard falls
The light circle is where the optic nerve exits the
on the fovea. Eye movements are thus very important for visual
retina
perception, and any failure to make them correctly can lead to serious
visual disabilities.
Human eye 5
Extraocular muscles
Each eye has six muscles that control its movements: the lateral rectus,
the medial rectus, the inferior rectus, the superior rectus, the inferior
oblique, and the superior oblique. When the muscles exert different
tensions, a torque is exerted on the globe that causes it to turn, in MRI scan of human eye
almost pure rotation, with only about one millimeter of translation.[9]
Thus, the eye can be considered as undergoing rotations about a single
point in the center of the eye.
Microsaccades
Even when looking intently at a single spot, the eyes drift around. This ensures that individual photosensitive cells
are continually stimulated in different degrees. Without changing input, these cells would otherwise stop generating
output. Microsaccades move the eye no more than a total of 0.2° in adult humans.
Vestibulo-ocular reflex
The vestibulo-ocular reflex is a reflex eye movement that stabilizes images on the retina during head movement by
producing an eye movement in the direction opposite to head movement, thus preserving the image on the center of
the visual field. For example, when the head moves to the right, the eyes move to the left, and vice versa.
Human eye 6
Optokinetic reflex
The optokinetic reflex is a combination of a saccade and smooth pursuit movement. When, for example, looking out
of the window at a moving train, the eyes can focus on a 'moving' train for a short moment (through smooth pursuit),
until the train moves out of the field of vision. At this point, the optokinetic reflex kicks in, and moves the eye back
to the point where it first saw the train (through a saccade).
Near response
The adjustment to close-range vision involves three processes to focus an image on the retina.
Vergence movement
When a creature with binocular vision looks at an object, the eyes must
rotate around a vertical axis so that the projection of the image is in the
centre of the retina in both eyes. To look at an object closer by, the
eyes rotate 'towards each other' (convergence), while for an object
farther away they rotate 'away from each other' (divergence).
Exaggerated convergence is called cross eyed viewing (focusing on the
nose for example). When looking into the distance, or when 'staring
into nothingness', the eyes neither converge nor diverge. Vergence
movements are closely connected to accommodation of the eye. Under
normal conditions, changing the focus of the eyes to look at an object
at a different distance will automatically cause vergence and
accommodation.
Lenses cannot refract light rays at their edges as well as they can closer
to the center. The image produced by any lens is therefore somewhat blurry around the edges (spherical aberration).
It can be minimized by screening out peripheral light rays and looking only at the better-focused center. In the eye,
the pupil serves this purpose by constricting while the eye is focused on nearby objects. In this way the pupil has a
dual purpose: to adjust the eye to variations in brightness and to reduce spherical aberration.
Human eye 7
Effects of aging
There are many diseases, disorders, and age-related changes that may affect the eyes and surrounding structures.
As the eye ages, certain changes occur that can be attributed solely to the aging process. Most of these anatomic and
physiologic processes follow a gradual decline. With aging, the quality of vision worsens due to reasons independent
of diseases of the aging eye. While there are many changes of significance in the non-diseased eye, the most
functionally important changes seem to be a reduction in pupil size and the loss of accommodation or focusing
capability (presbyopia). The area of the pupil governs the amount of light that can reach the retina. The extent to
which the pupil dilates decreases with age, leading to a substantial decrease in light received at the retina. In
comparison to younger people, it is as though older persons are constantly wearing medium-density sunglasses.
Therefore, for any detailed visually guided tasks on which performance varies with illumination, older persons
require extra lighting. Certain ocular diseases can come from sexually transmitted diseases such as herpes and genital
warts. If contact between the eye and area of infection occurs, the STD can be transmitted to the eye.[10]
With aging, a prominent white ring develops in the periphery of the cornea called arcus senilis. Aging causes laxity,
downward shift of eyelid tissues and atrophy of the orbital fat. These changes contribute to the etiology of several
eyelid disorders such as ectropion, entropion, dermatochalasis, and ptosis. The vitreous gel undergoes liquefaction
(posterior vitreous detachment or PVD) and its opacities — visible as floaters — gradually increase in number.
Various eye care professionals, including ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians, are involved in the treatment
and management of ocular and vision disorders. A Snellen chart is one type of eye chart used to measure visual
acuity. At the conclusion of a complete eye examination, the eye doctor might provide the patient with an eyeglass
prescription for corrective lenses. Some disorders of the eyes for which corrective lenses are prescribed include
myopia (near-sightedness) which affects about one-third[citation needed] of the human population, hyperopia
(far-sightedness) which affects about one quarter of the population, astigmatism, and presbyopia (the loss of focusing
range during aging).
Additional images
Eye and orbit anatomy with Image showing orbita with eye Image showing orbita with eye Human Iris, Blue type
motor nerves and nerves visible (periocular fat and periocular fat.
removed).
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Human eye 9
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External links
• 3D Interactive Human Eye (http://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/eye#1/15)
Article Sources and Contributors 10
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