The eye possibly provides the most information of any of our five senses. The intricate anatomy allows the information from the outside world to be understood by our brains allowing us to interact with our environment.

We are able to see when light passes into our eye through the front clear cornea, in through the pupil and is then focused by the lens onto the retina, where the light is converted by specialised cells into different electrical signals that pass along the fibres of the optic nerve to the brain where the information is processed.

Different parts of the eye :

Conjuntiva :- Clear outer skin that covers the front part of the white of the eye and envelopes back down the inside surface of the eyelids.

Cornea :- Clear front circular window of the eye, it acts as part of the focusing mechanism and also is very sensitive, which encourages the eyelids to protect the eye.

Sclera :- The tough white outer visible coat of the eye.

Iris :- Giving the eye it’s ‘colour’. It controls the amount of light entering the eye by adjusting the size of the pupil.

Pupil :- Clear hole in the middle of the pupil.

Lens :- Clear refracting structure just behind the pupil, that continues the focusing of the light after it passes through the cornea, to give a sharp image onto the retina. Cloudiness of the lens is what is known as a cataract, and then can be replaced by by a plastic lens during a cataract operation.

Ciliary Body :- this is the muscular area that controls the lens when the eye refocuses.

Retina :- The light sensitive layer of the eye containing specialised rod and cone cells which starts the process of differentiating the light that is entering the eye so that the brain can make sense of the information it receives.

Macula :- The central part of the retina which has the greatest concentration of cones which are best at perceiving colour and detail in brighter light. This is where the most detailed information is seen by the brain.

Fovea :- is the centre of the macular offering the greatest point of resolution.

Choroid :- The layer containing pigment that absorbs the excess light in the eye.

Optic disk :- The top of the optic nerve and can be seen during the examination of the eye and is where the nerves from the retina leave the eye. It is this area that is seen to be damaged in glaucoma.

Optic nerve :- The passageway for the nerves from the eye to the brain.