Eye Dissection

FIll in the chart:

For each of the following eye structures, add an explanation of what it is and an image of your cow eye with the structure clearly indicated by an arrow and
label. If the item is microscopic, just show the part of the eye where it’d be found.
● You can not use images that are not your own or your partner’s
○ You can share raw photos with your partner; annotations must be your own
○ You can reuse photos for multiple structures; each structure needs a specific arrow and label
○ You can not share photos with other groups

structure definition Photo annotated with arrow and label

sclera The outer layer of the eye, seen as the “white of the eye”.
Figure 1: Outside/full
eye
Sclera

Excess fat
and muscle

Pupil/Lens
while
inside eye. Cornea

Also shown in Figures 2 and 4

cornea A protective, transparent layer in front of the iris and Shown in Figure 1.
pupil. Its transparency allows light to enter the eye and hit
the lens.

optic nerve The pathway from the eye to the brain that transports the
stimuli for the brain to process. Figure 6:
Back of Eye Opti
c
Ner
ve
Myelin

blind spot Where the retina meets the optic nerve. This is the only
area where you cannot sense light, so the brain fills in the Figure 4: Posterior half of Scaler
eye
“blind spot”.
a Tapet
um

Reti The Blind

na spot

The Rods and Cones

are in the retina, but
microscopic.
iris Tissue in the front of the eye, which the eye muscles can
manipulate to control the amount of the light that can Figure 5: Removed Iris
enter the pupil. When looking at someone’s eye, this is Iris
the colored part.

Pu
pil

(Residual)
Aqueous
Humor

lens Made up of crystallins (transparent proteins) the lens

bends the light that enters from the pupil, so it can focus Figure 3: The Lens
on the retina.

Removed Lens

myelin The myelin is only visible when you squeeze very hard Shown in Figure 6
on the optic nerve, hence the small amount. Myelin is
wrapped around the axon of some neurons and is used
to increase transport speeds of electrical impulses.

cones One of two types of photoreceptors in the retina. The “Shown” in Figure 4
cones can differentiate between the wave lengths of light
(RGB) and so they allow our brain to perceive fine detail
and color.

pupil The hole in the middle of the iris. The size of the pupil Shown in Figure 1 and 5
fluctuates based on the brightness, allowing certain
amounts of light to enter the eye.

retina The nervous tissue in the back of the eye that houses the Shown in Figure 4
photoreceptors (cones and rods) as well as the Ganglion
cells and Bipolar cells.

rods Photoreceptors also found in the retina. They are able to “Shown” in Figure 4
sense light levels like cones but are unable to sense fine
details and color. They are used for peripheral vision, and
there are more of them in the retina than there are cones.

aqueous humor Clear liquid in the area between the cornea and the lens. Shown in Figure 5
It is clear to allow the light to enter the eye.

tapetum The tapetum is not found in humans, but in some Shown in Figure 4
animals, including cows. It lives between the lens and the
retina and allows the light to bounce off the back of the
eye. Where humans can see better in bright
environments and worse in the dark, animals with the
tapetum experience the opposite.
 vitreous humor The jello-like substance in the anterior half of the eye
between the lens and the retina. Since the vitreous Figure 2:
humor is firmer it allows the eye to hold its round shape. Anterior Lens
half of
eye
Vitreous
without
Humor
cornea.

Scalera

Put it all together:

Write a well-organized paragraph to describe the movement of light through the eye from outside the eye to the brain.
● Use every term above in a manner that indicates you know what it means and how it’s relevant to the overall process
● Bold each term (14 total) when it appears in your paragraph

First the light hits and passes through the cornea, and the iris and eye muscles control how much light is allowed in by contracting or widening the size of
the pupil. The light then passes through the pupil and hits the lens - which reflects the light to the retina. The light travels through the aqueous humor
which is clear to allow the light to continue to move through the eye. The aqueous humor is similar to the vitreous humor, in that they both maintain
pressure in the eye and supply nutrients; yet, the vitreous humor lives between the lens and the retina and is more like jello. When the light hits the retina
the photoreceptors (the cones and rods) sense the light and send signals to the Ganglion cells and Bipolar cells. The cones are able to sense finer detail and
differentiate between color, whereas the rods can solely pick up BNW. Each cone has one bipolar cell, yet there can be many (many) rods per bipolar cell. After causing
the chain reaction: cones/rods → bipolar cells → ganglion cells, the sensory information - which is now in the form of neural impulses - gets sent to the myelinated
optic nerve. The optic nerve houses many neurons and is the transport system from the eye to the brain. The myelination around the axons allows for the
electrical signals to move faster to the brain. In the area where the optic nerve connects to the retina is “the blind spot” as there are no rods or cones in
this spot, and thus, no sensory input. Using the surrounding context that the brain does receive from the rods/cones, when the brain processes the sensory
info, it just fills in the blind spot. When looking at someone’s eye you will see the iris, which will provide color, and the dark pupil inside. There is also the
whites of the eye, which is the sclera. The purpose of the sclera is to provide extra protection and support to your eye. Lastly, something that we don’t find
in human eyes, is the tapetum. In eyes that have a tapetum, the light first hits the back of the eye (the tapetum) then reflects back to the retina. This allows
animals with tapetums to see better in low light, and in turn, worse when it’s brighter.