OCULAR AND

VISUAL SCIENCE
Nor Shahahidah Bt Shahabudin
Semester 3
THE EYE
 OCULAR AND VISUAL SCIENCE
1. Sclera
2. Choroid
3. Crystaline len
4. Vitreous humor
5. retina
1. SCLERA
FUNCTION OF THE SCLERA
 Maintain the shape of the globe
 Offering resistance to internal and external
forces.
 Provides an attachment for the extraocular
muscle insertion.
ANATOMY OF THE SCLERA
 The thickness is varies.
 At the posterior pole is 1
mm.
 Gradually become thinner
when traced forwards is
0.5mm
 The thinnest pt is at
insertion of ocular
muscle : 0.3mm – 0.4mm.
 Radius of curvature is
11.5mm at the equator
posteriorly and at flatter
anteriorly to give radii
14mm.
 ANATOMY OF THE SCLERA
 Tough white collagenous coat of a globe.
 Forms the posterior opaque 5/6 of the
fibrous external tunic of the eye.
 Consists of dense irregular connective tissue.
 3 HISTOLOGICAL LAYERS OF
THE SCLERA
1. Episclera
2. Stroma
3. Lamina fusca
 EPISCLERA
 The episclera tissue is the loose connective
and elastic tissue which covers the sclera and
anteriorly connects the conjunctiva to it.
 It joined to Tenon’s capsule by strands of
connective tissue
 become thinner toward the back of the eye.
THE SCLERA STROMA
 Composed of collagen fibers, fibroblasts and
ground substance.
 Unlike the cornea, the collagen fibers are
- various thickness.
- have irregular space
- bundles also lack the regular arrangement.
 LAMINA FUSCA
 The inner surface of the sclera.
 Is formed of collagen fibers, fibroblasts and
melanocytes passing from the sclera to the
choroid.
 Blood vessels and nerve fibers are found in
this layer.
2. CHOROID
 FUNCTION OF CHOROID
 To act as the lympho-vascular supply to the
posterior segment of the eye.
 ANATOMY OF THE CHOROID
 The most posterior part of the vascular coat
of the eye.
 Lines the sclera from the ora-serrata and its
junction with the CB up to the edge of the
optic disc.
 More thicker at the posteriorly ≈0.2mm
 At the anteriorly is ≈0.1mm
 Its especially thick in the macula
region( have greater metabolic load here)
 4 HISTOLOGICAL LAYERS OF
CHOROID
1. The suprachoroid
lamina
2. Vessel layer
( stroma )
3. Choriocapillaris
4. Basal lamina
( lamina vitrea )
 THE SUPRACHOROID LAMINA
 The outer layer is a
≈34µm thick. its the
transition zone between
the choroid and sclera.
 It consist of collagen
fibers, fibroblasts and
pigment cell
(chromatophores &
melanocytes)
 The loose attachment
between sclera and
choroid give rise to the
suprachoroidal space.
 VESSEL LAYER ( STROMA )
 Consists of loose
collagenous tissue
with some elastin &
reticulum fibers.
 Characterized by the
presence of
fibroblasts & pigment
cells (melanocytes &
chromatophores)
 The veins are largest
posteriorly.
 CHORIOCAPILLARIS
 Has a tight junctions to
prevent materials from
going into the retina.
 The capillaries unusual
wide diameter (50µm)
ensures the richest
blood supply to the
cones and nourishes the
outer part of the retina.
 The capillaris contain
no pigments.
 Its end at the ora-
serrata.
 BASAL LAMINA
 Also called Bruch’s
membrane,it is 2.0µm
thick.
 Posteriorly the collagen
fibers merge with the
connective tissue of
the optic nerve.
 With ageing, the
cuticular layer may
become thickened
forming moulds called
drusen.
3. THE CRYSTALINE LENS
 FUNCTION OF CRYSTALINE
LENS
 The transparency of the lens is function of
the highly ordered state of its cell and
extracellular matrix.
 ANATOMY OF THE CRYSTALINE
LENS
 A transparent bi-convex body of crystaline
appearance between iris & vitreous.
 Diameter : 9-10mm but its axial diameter
varies markedly with accomodation.
 Has an anterior and posterior surface.
 The border where these 2 surfaces meet is
known as the equator.
 The refractive index ≈ 1.43
STRUCTURE OF LENS :
Lens consists of :
 The lenticular
capsule
 The lenticular
epithelium /
anterior
epithelium.
 The lens cell or
fibers.
THE LENTICULAR CAPSULE
 Form a transparent,
homogenous, highly
elastic membrane that
envelops the lens.
 Made up of collagen-
like fibers.
 The thickness of the
capsule is varies from
the poles to the
equator.
THE LENTICULAR EPITHELIUM
 At the anterior of the lens below the capsule
lies a single layer of cuboidal epithelium
cells.
 Towards the equator the cell become
columnar and elongating .
 Converted into lens fiber.
THE LENS CELLS OR FIBERS
 The epithelial cells undergo mitotic division
at the equator.
 The new cells produce 2 processes.
 These cell processes are referred to as lens
fibers-elongating, nucleated cell.
 The lens becomes flatter with age, but its
refractive power is retained.
4. THE VITREOUS HUMOR
FUNCTION OF VITREOUS.
 Is to prevent collapse of the eye when
penetrated.
 Its aids in lens metabolism.
 The physiology of the vitreous body :
1. support function of retina and filling up
function of the vitreous body cavity
2. diffusion barrier between the anterior and
posterior segment of the eye.
3. metabolic buffer function.
4. establishment of unhindered path of light.
 GENERAL FEATURES OF THE
VITREOUS
 The vitreous cavity is the largest cavity of
the eye ( 2/3 volume of the eye)
 Vitreous humor is transparent, colorless,
viscoelastic gel which fill the posterior 4/5 of
the globe.
 Its viscosity is 2-4x than of the water.
 The refractive index is 1.334.
 Make up 80% of the volume of the eye.
THE STRUCTURE OF VITREOUS
 Not completely homogenous.
 Consists of 2 portions
 The central vitreous possesses less collagen
than cortical vitreous.
 Can be further subdivided into 3 zones :
preretinal, intermediate and retrolental
tracts.
 The retrolental and intermediate zone is
human eye semi-liquid.
 Hyalocytes are the main cell types in the
vitreous which is an active phagocytes.
5. THE RETINA
STRUCTURE OF RETINA
 Total area of retina is ≈950mm²
 Consists of the somata and processes of 3
layers of nervous elements (the
photoreceptor, the bipolar cells & the
ganglion cells) place one on the other and
forming synapses in the molecular zones.
LAYERS OF THE RETINA
Described as having 10 layers, which are :
1. Pigmented epithelium ( RPE)
2. Rods and cones.
3. outer limiting membrane (OLM)
4. Outer nuclear layer (ONL)
5. Outer plexiform layer (OPL)
6. Inner nuclear layer (INL)
7. Inner plexiform layer (IPL)
8. Ganglion cell layer (GCL)
9. Nerve fiber layer (NFL)
10. Internal limiting membrane (ILM)
THE PIGMENTED EPITHELIUM
 Function of RPE cell :
 To absorb stray light.
 To provide pathway for the metabolites to
the receptor from choriocapillaris and to
remove waste material shed from the
receptor.
 The cell give mechanical stability to the tips
of the receptors.
 THE PHOTORECEPTOR CELL
(RODS AND CONES)
 Rods
-responsible for vision at
low light levels
(scotopic vision).
-not sensitive to color,
and have a low spatial
acuity.
-Many rods connected to
one bipolar cell
resulting in poor visual
acuity and poor
resolution
 THE PHOTORECEPTOR CELL
(RODS AND CONES)
 Cones.
-active at higher light levels
(photopic vision), are
capable of color vision and
are responsible for high
spatial acuity.
-cones provide the eye's color
sensitivity
-much more concentrated in
the central yellow spot
known as the macula.
-Each cone is connected to one
bipolar cell resulting in good
acuity and good resolution
OUTER LIMITING MEMBRANE
(OLM)
 This membrane extends from the ora-serrata
to the edge of the optic disc.
 It has muller cell( neuroglial cell) to
connect the rods and cones.
OUTER NUCLEAR LAYER (ONL)
 This layer consist of the nuclei of the rods
and cones cells.
 Consists of 3-4 layers of rods nuclei together
with a single layer of cone nuclei.
 Rod inner fibers terminate in a spherule.
 Cone fiber terminates in cone pedicles.
OUTER PLEXIFORM LAYER
(OPL)
 This is a layer of processes and synapses.
 It is the connection between rod spherules
and cone pedicles.
 Each rod contacts up to 5 rod bipolar cells &
2 horinzontal cells
 Each cone contacts up to one midget bipolar,
one flat midget bipolar, 3 flat bipolar & 4
horizontal cells.
INNER NUCLEAR LAYER (INL)
 This layer contain horizontal cells and
amacrine cells.
 The horizontal cells communicate across the
retina with both rods and cones.
 The amacrine cells communicate across the
retina at the level of ganglion cell layer.
INNER PLEXIFORM LAYER (IPL)
 This layer formed by the processes &
synapses of the bipolar, amacrine & the
dendrites of ganglion cells.
 The axon of bipolar cell terminate either on
amacrine or ganglion cell processess but not
on other bipolar cells.
 This layer has same thickness everywhere in
retina except at the fovea.
GANGLION CELL LAYER (GCL)
 Consists of the nuclei of ganglion cells
throughout the peripheral retina.
 Monosynaptic or midget ganglion cells
predominate in the central retina and linked
to cones receptor by a single midget bipolar
neuron.
NERVE FIBER LAYER (NFL)
 Consists of the axons of the ganglion cells.
 The fibers are non-medullated and all
converge towards the optic disc.
 At the optic disc, the axons pass
perpendicular through lamina cribosa and
become myelinated to form the optic disc.
INTERNAL LIMITING MEMBRANE(ILM)
 Form both the inner limit of the retina and
outer boundary of the vitreous.
 Present at fovea but lost at optic nerve
head.