NOTES ON EYE OF RABBIT/MAN:

The mammalian eye is the sense organ of sight. It is a pair spherical structures situated well
inside eye orbit.

The eye is supported by 6 pairs of muscles: 4 pairs of rectus(any muscle in the body which is
straight is called rectus like abdominal, thigh, neck and eye rectus muscle) muscles which are
superior, inferior, median and lateral rectus muscles and 2 pairs of oblique muscle which are
superior and inferior oblique muscles. These muscles help to support and move eyeball.

Eyelashes are situated on the outer margin of lower and upper eyelid: these protect eye from dust
particle. In rabbit there are 3 eyelids namely upper, lower and 3rd eyelid also called nictitating
membrane (vestigial in human). The upper and lower eyelids meet at 2 corners of eye called
canthi. These eyelids help to clean eyeball.

In rabbit’s eye there are 3 types of glands namely:

i. Meibomian gland: It is situated in the inner margin of upper and lower eyelid. It
secretes oily substance for lubrication of eyeball.
ii. Lacrymal gland: It is situated in the dorso-lateral side of of orbit and secrets saline
water called tear. It helps to clean eyeball. The excess tear is drained off from nasal
lacrimal duct.
iii. Harderian gand: It is present only in rabbit and is situated below lower eyelid and
secretes watery fluid which helps to keep conjunctiva moist.

Structure

The eyeball is made up of 3 layers namely:

i. Sclerotic layer: It is the

outermost layer and is made up
of white fibrous connective
tissue that is tough, opaque and
provides shape of eyeball. In
the anterior part of sclerotic
layer, there is a transparent
layer called cornea. During eye
donation, only cornea is
transplanted. Single layer of
epithelium called conjunctiva
covers the cornea.

Eye
 ii. Choroid layer: It is the middle layer and is highly vascular with pigments and smooth
muscles. This middle layer provides darkness to cavity thus preventing the internal
reflection of light. It is continuous with sclerotic layer and is free in front called iris.
Iris is perforated by aperture called pupil and it is controlled by circular and radial
muscle. At periphery region of iris, there is ciliary body where the ciliary muscles are
present. From the ciliary body suspensory ligaments arise that hold the eye lens.
iii. Retina : It is the innermost layer of eye and it is closely associated with the choroid
layer and extends up to the ciliary body. Retina has 3 layers:
a. Photoreceptor layer: That comprises of rod and cone cells.
b. Bipolar neuron layer: It has bipolar neuron among which amacrine and horizontal
cells are present that hold the rod and cone cells together.
c. Ganglionated cells layer: It is the outermost layer and it has ganglionated cells
whose Dendron form synapse with the Axon of bipolar neuron cells. The axon of
ganglionated cells continues as optic nerve.

Histology of retina (Rod and Cone cells)

Rod and cone photoreceptors have the same basic structure.

Closest to the visual field (and farthest from the brain) is the
axon terminal, which releases a neurotransmitter called
glutamate to bipolar cells. Farther back is the cell body, which
contains the cell's organelles. Farther back still is the inner
segment, a specialized part of the cell full of mitochondria.
The chief function of the inner segment is to provide ATP
(energy) for the sodium-potassium pump. Finally, closest to
the brain (and farthest from the field of view) is the outer
segment, the part of the photoreceptor that absorbs light.
Outer segments are actually modified cilia that contain disks
filled with opsin, the molecule that absorbs photons, as well
as voltage-gated sodium channels.

The membranous photoreceptor protein opsin contains a

pigment molecule called retinal. In rod cells, these together
are called rhodopsin. In cone cells there are different types of opsins that Rod and Cone cells
combine with retinal to form pigments called photopsins. Three different
classes of photopsins in the cones react to different ranges of light frequency, a differentation
which eventually allows the visual system to distinguish color. The function of the photoreceptor
cell is to convert the light energy of the photon into a form of energy communicable to the
nervous system and readily usable to the organism: this conversion is called signal transduction.

The opsin found in the photosensitive ganglion cells of the retina that are involved in various
reflexive responses of the brain and body to the presence of (day)light, such as the regulation of
circadian rhythms, pupillary reflex and other non-visual responses to light, is called melanopsin.
Atypical in vertebrates, melanopsin functionally resembles invertebrate opsins. In structure, it is
an opsin, a retinylidene protein variety of G-protein-coupled receptor.

When light activates the melanopsin signaling system, the melanopsin-containing ganglion cells
discharge nerve impulses which are conducted through their axons to specific brain targets.
These targets include the olivary pretectal nucleus (a center responsible for controlling the pupil
of the eye) and, through the retinohypothalamic tract (RHT), the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the
hypothalamus (the master pacemaker of circadian rhythms). Melanopsin ganglion cells are
thought to influence these targets by releasing from their axon terminals the neurotransmitters
glutamate and pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP).

Blind Spot and Yellow spot

Number of optic nerves pierces retina and leaves eye and this spot is called blind spot or optic
disc.

Just above blind spot is a small depression called yellow spot and in middle of yellow spot there
is a small oval area fovea centralis where only cone cells are present and in this region distinct
image is formed.

Lens

The lens is a transparent fibrous crystalline structure situated just behind iris and it is enclosed by
a thin membrane called lens capsule. It is attached to ciliary body by suspensory ligaments and it
divides eye cavity into 2 parts:

a. Aqueous chamber: It is a small chamber between cornea and lens. It is filled with a
watery fluid called aqueous humor.
b. Vitreous chamber: It is a larger chamber and is present between lens and retina and it
bears gelatinous vitreous humor.

Working of eye

The light rays falling on cornea are refracted by lens and falls on retina where inverted image is
formed and this stimulate the rod and cone cells. These cells convert the image into impulse and
the impulse is carried to brain by optic nerve. In superior colliculi of brain the impulse is
interpreted and real sensation of vision arises. We humans have binocular vision while rabbit has
monocular vision