VISUAL PATHWAY

Figure 9.6
 ACCESSORY STRUCTURES OF THE
EYE
◆ EXTRINSIC EYE MUSCLES
◆ EYELIDS
◆ CONJUNCTIVA
◆ LACRIMAL APPARATUS
 EYELIDS

◆ Anteriorly, the eyes are protected by the

eyelids which meet at the medial and lateral
corners of the eye, the medial and lateral
canthus respectively.
◆ Projecting from the border of each eyelid are
the eyelashes
◆ Meibomian Glands – modified sebaceous
glands associated with the eyelid edges;
produce an oily secretion that lubricates the
eye
◆ Ciliary Glands – modified sweat glands
between the eyelashes
Figure 9.5
 CONJUNCTIVA
- lines the eyelids and covers part of the white of the
eye (sclera) infront
- secretes the mucus which helps to lubricate the eyeball
and keep it moist

LACRIMAL GLANDS:
- located above the lateral ends of each eye
-continually release a dilute salt solution ( tears=“lacrimal fluid”)
that drain into the nasal cavity through the inferior meatus
-Lacrimal fluid not only moistens and lubricates conjunctival sac
but also reduces eye infections because it contains bactericidal
enzyme called LYSOZYME
Figure 9.7
 EXTRINSIC EYE MUSCLES
ACTION NERVE SUPPLY
LATERAL RECTUS lateral CN VI
MEDIAL RECTUS MEDIALLY CN III
SUPERIOR RECTUS Upwards and CN III
medially
INFERIOR RECTUS Downwards and CN III
medially
INFERIOR OBLIQUE Upwards and CN III
laterally
SUPERIOR Downwards and CN IV
OBLIQUE laterally
Figure 9.8
VISUAL APPARATUS

- made up of the eyeball specialized for its

ability to react to light.
COATS OF THE EYEBALL
1. Fibrous coat
- protects the delicate inner structures of the
eye and with the intraocular pressure maintain
the shape and turgor of the eyeball.
Parts:
Cornea – transparent anterior 1/6 of the
fibrous coat
Sclera – opaque posterior 5/6 of the fibrous
coat
CORNEA
- transparent fibrous coat covering the
colored part of the eyes, iris.
- slightly thicker than sclera with refractive
power 2x as high as the lens.

- avascular and the central part depends on

diffusion from aqueous humor for its
nourishment.

- one of the few organs that can be

successfully transplanted without rejection
from the host.
SCLERA
- opaque posterior 5/6 of the fibrous coat
- mainly made up of densely packed
collagenous fibers (type I collagen fibrils)
- where tendons of extraocular muscles are
attached

- pierced by optic nerve, ciliary nerves and

blood vessels
2. Vascular and Muscular coat or UVEA
- concerned with nutrition of retina and
production of aqueous humor
- provides mechanisms for
accommodation of the eyes for near vision
and control of amount of light entering
the eye.
Parts:
1. choroid
2. ciliary body
3. iris
UVEA
CHOROID
- middle coat of the eye
- blood-rich nutritive tunic that
contains a dark pigment that
prevents light from scattering
inside the eye
CILIARY BODY
- a thickening of the vascular tunic
- connects choroid with circumference
of
iris
- with ciliary muscle for accomodation
- when ciliary muscle contracts, the
lens become more convex
- with ciliary process producing aqueous
humor
IRIS
- heavily pigmented colored part of eye
- acts like a diaphragm with a central opening called
pupil. Smooth muscle in iris control the amount of lights
going to the retina
- rest on anterior surface of the lens, thus it separates
the anterior chamber from the posterior chamber.
- main mass consists of loose, pigmented, highly
vascular connective tissue.

- with 2 smooth muscles:

1. sphincter pupillae – circumferentially oriented
fibers
- constriction of pupils - parasympathetic
2. dilator pupillae – radially oriented fibers
- dilation of pupils - sympathetic
3. Nervous coat
- Retina
RETINA
- innermost layer where receptors for sense of sight are
found
- nervous coat of the eyeball containing the photoreceptor
cells
Photoreceptors:
1. Rods
- stimulated by low intensity light
- for night vision (scotopic vision)
- contains reddish pigment,
RHODOPSIN. Very sensitive and produces detectable
signal on absorption of a single photon of light
2. Cones
- stimulated by high intensity light
for day vision/color vision (photopic) sensitive to blue,
green and red lights.
And the differences in absorption of these 3 kinds provide
basis for color vision.
Figure 9.12a
REFRACTIVE MEDIA OF THE EYE
- the transparent structures traversed by the
light rays on the way to the photoreceptors of
the retina.
- These structures can bend or refract the
light rays so the images can be focused on
the retina.
Parts:
◆ cornea
◆ aqueous humor
◆ lens
◆ vitreous humor
LENS
- transparent biconvex body
situated immediately behind the
pupil.

- shape changes during

accommodation

- covered by a homogenous
highly refractile capsule which is
essentially an exceedingly thick
basal lamina
Clinical Focus 9Aa
Clinical Focus 9Ab
Clinical Focus 9Ac
Clinical Focus 9Ad
VITREOUS HUMOR

- colorless, structureless. gelatinous mass

with a glass-like transparency filling up the
vitreous cavity between lens and retina.
- nearly 99% is water
- with liquid and solid phase.
 VISUAL PATHWAY
THE EYEBALL
- the stimuli for sense of vision, the light
rays must pass through the different
parts of the refractive media before
reaching the retina. These are the
following:
a. cornea
b. aqueous humor
c. lens
d. vitreous humor
PARS OPTICA
- photosensitive area
- with a circular depressed white area, optic
disk or optic papilla where optic nerve exits and
retinal vessels enter and leave
OPTIC DISK – contains nerve fibers but no
photoreceptors and is insensitive to light.
Called physiologic blind spot.
- 2.5 cm lateral to optic disk is a small
oval yellow area MACULA LUTEA with central
depressed area FOVEA CENTRALIS. This is the
area of most acute vision.
- Characterized by presence of cones and
neural element greater than elsewhere. This is
a rod free area
- the light rays must then pass through the
layers of the retina to reach the
photoreceptive layers of rods and cones.

- the outer segments of rods and cones

transduce light energy from photons into
membrane potentials.

- photopigments in rods and cones absorb

protons, and this causes a conformational
change in the molecular structure of these
pigments.
 - rods and cones have synaptic
contacts on bipolar cells that project to
ganglion cells.

- axons from the ganglion cells converge

at the optic disc to form the optic nerve,
which enters the cranial cavity through
the optic foramen.
- at the optic disc, these axons acquire a
myelin sheath from the oligodendrocytes
of the CNS .
Figure 9.12a
- at the optic chiasm, 60% of the optic
nerve fibers from the nasal half of each
retina cross and project into the
contralateral optic tract

- fibers from the temporal retina do not

cross at the chiasm and instead pass into
the ipsilateral optic tract.
- the optic tract contains remixed optic
nerve fibers from the temporal part of
the ipsilateral retina and fibers from the
nasal part of the contralateral retina.

- the eye inverts images like a camera, in

reality each nasal retina receives
information from a temporal hemifield,
and each temporal retina receives
information from a nasal hemifield.
VISUAL PATHWAY & VISUAL FIELDS
DEFECTS I
1. Right optic nerve lesion
Anopsia of right eye
2. Lesion of both lateral parts of optic chiasm
Binasal Heteronymous hemianopsia
3. Lesion of medial part of optic chiasm
Bitemporal heteronymous hemianopsia
4. Right optic tract lesion
5. Right optic radiation lesion
6. Right calcarine area lesion
Left homonymous hemianopsia
 Cuneus gyri – lies on the superior bank of the
calcarine cortex
- receives the medial fibers of the visual
radiations.
Lingual gyrus – lies on the inferior bank of the
calcarine cortex.
- the medial fibers coursing in the visual
radiations, which carry input from the upper retina
( i.e. the lower contralateral visual field)
- pass from the lateral geniculate body directly
through the the parietal lobe to reach the
cuneus gyrus.
THANK YOU!