THE EYE AND ITS ANATOMY

The eye is one of our five sensory organs which include the ear, the nose, taste receptors, and sensory receptors in the skin, mucous membranes, and other tissues. The eye is a complex but at the same time, the most well defined of these structures and therefore, the easiest to understand.

The structure of the eye is like that of a house with an outwardly curved window, that is the cornea, at the front and a lengthy cable, the optic nerve, extending from the back. It is essentially an empty structure except for the coloured iris which controls the amount of light from entering the pupil. For each eye, there is a tough, fibrous globe which maintains the shape of the eye, a lens system to focus image, a layer of photo-sensitive cells, and a layer of cells and nerves that transmit the visual information to the brain. The main components of the eye will be discussed in detail below.

Inside the eye, there are totally three main layers : 1. External layer (sclera and cornea), 2. Vascular layer (choroid, ciliary body, and iris) 3. Inner layer (retina)