Section A: Scott Read

QUESTION TYPE 1:
Very short answer “one mark” questions. Answer is a few
words/numbers/phrase. May need to apply your
knowledge and understanding to answer the question.

Examples:

• Which orbital orifice does the second cranial nerve

travel through?

• A rod dyad in the inner plexiform layer involves a

synapse between a bipolar cell and which other cell/s?

• According to the myogenic mechanism of blood flow

autoregulation, a decrease in the transmural pressure
difference would be expected to result in what change
in the retinal arterioles?
Section A: Scott Read

QUESTION TYPE 2:
Longer written answers (typically 5-10 marks). May need
to apply your knowledge and understanding to answer the
question. May need to use a diagram in your answer.
Budget approximately 1 mark per minute to complete the
answer
Example:
• Compare and contrast the anatomical characteristics of
midget and parasol ganglion cells.
(5 marks)
Highlight the similarities and differences
between the anatomical characteristics of
these two cell types (note description of
physiology isn’t needed). Consider:
-Anatomical location within retina (layers)
-Connections that cells make (IPL, LGN)
-Anatomical features of cells (dendritic tree)
 Section A: Scott Read • Choroidal capillaries are fenestrated, whereas
retinal capillaries are continuous.

QUESTION TYPE 2: • Retinal blood flow has a relatively low flow rate, but
a high extraction of oxygen, choroid has high flow
Example: rate but a low extraction of oxygen.

• Using well labelled diagrams describe two (2) ways in
which the blood flow through the choroid and retina differ.
(5 marks)
• Retina exhibits strong autoregulation, Choroidal
blood flow has less well-developed autoregulation.
• Choroidal blood flow has well developed neural
regulation. Retina has no neural regulation
 Section B: Katrina Schmid
Very short answer one mark questions. Answer is a few
words/numbers/phrase. May need knowledge and
understanding.

Use your knowledge of eye movements and the extraocular

muscles to answer the following questions:
(i) Which rectus muscle inserts furthest from the limbus?
(ii) What angle does the superior rectus make with the visual
axis?
(iii)What is the yoke muscle of the left inferior rectus muscle?
(iv)Which EOM layer are the connective tissue pulley
structures thought to insert into?
(v) Which contractile protein occupies the H zone of the
sarcomere?

Sleeves of connective tissue (collagen) encircle each rectus

EOM and IO in anterior orbit near equator (act as ‘pulleys’ for
these muscles)
Linked to Tenon’s capsule, adjacent muscle and orbital wall by
bands of collagen elastin and smooth muscle.
The orbital layer of the EOM insert into the pulley.

Section B: Katrina Schmid
Short answer. 5 min for 5 marks. May need
comparison across topics.
What is the optokinetic reflex, and how does this reflex
differ from the vestibular ocular reflex? (5 marks)
OKN: Reflex eye moments driven by visual detection of the
direction and velocity of retinal image motion. Stimulated by
motion, of all, or at least a large portion, of the visual field
Related to VOR - but driven by different stimuli. Very
accurate, slower response because of complicated
information processing
VOR: Compensatory eye movements driven by structures of
inner ear (indirect, not that precise, nearly instantaneous,
fast reflex pathway).
Could compare. Stimulus, pathway, speed, accuracy,
function. Both under certain situations can create a
nystagmus eye movement but the stimuli differ
 Section B: Katrina Schmid

Longer answer questions. 10 min for 10 marks.

Likely to need to include a diagram or graph.

With the aid of a well labelled diagram, describe

the process of phototransduction that occurs in the
photoreceptors (i.e. describe how light energy is
transformed into a neural signal by the
photoreceptors) (10 marks)
Visual photopigments in outer segment of photoreceptor absorb light
Light induced change in the visual pigment (11-cis to all-trans form)
Transducin G-protein activated, phosphodiesterase (PDE) activated,
c-GMP converted to 5’-GMP, sodium/ calcium cation channels close
Cell hyperpolarizes (becomes more –ve)
Decrease in transmitter release at synapse
Affects the activity of the postsynaptic neuron