page_title: Retina
section_title: Retinal layers
hierarchical_section_title: Retina / Structure / Retinal layers
caption_attribution_description: Original description from http://www.bartleby.com/107/225.html. The retina consists of an outer pigmented layer and an inner nervous stratum or retina proper. The pigmented layer consists of a single stratum of cells. When viewed from the outer surface these cells are smooth and hexagonal in shape; when seen in section each cell consists of an outer non-pigmented part containing a large oval nucleus and an inner pigmented portion which extends as a series of straight thread-like processes between the rods, this being especially the case when the eye is exposed to light. In the eyes of albinos the cells of this layer are destitute of pigment. Retina Proper —The nervous structures of the retina proper are supported by a series of nonnervous or sustentacular fibers, and, when examined microscopically by means of sections made perpendicularly to the surface of the retina, are found to consist of seven layers, named from within outward as follows: Stratum opticum. Ganglionic layer. Inner plexiform layer. Inner nuclear layer, or layer of inner granules. Outer plexiform layer. Outer nuclear layer, or layer of outer granules. Layer of rods and cones.
context_page_description: The retina is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focused two-dimensional image of the visual world on the retina, which translates that image into electrical neural impulses to the brain to create visual perception. The retina serves a function analogous to that of the film or image sensor in a camera.
  The neural retina consists of several layers of neurons interconnected by synapses and is supported by an outer layer of pigmented epithelial cells. The primary light-sensing cells in the retina are the photoreceptor cells, which are of two types: rods and cones. Rods function mainly in dim light and provide black-and-white vision. Cones function in well-lit conditions and are responsible for the perception of colour, as well as high-acuity vision used for tasks such as reading. A third type of light-sensing cell, the photosensitive ganglion cell, is important for entrainment of circadian rhythms and reflexive responses such as the pupillary light reflex.
context_section_description: The vertebrate retina has ten distinct layers. From closest to farthest from the vitreous body:
  Inner limiting membrane – basement membrane elaborated by Müller cells.
  Nerve fibre layer – axons of the ganglion cell bodies (note that a thin layer of Müller cell footplates exists between this layer and the inner limiting membrane).
  Ganglion cell layer – contains nuclei of ganglion cells, the axons of which become the optic nerve fibres, and some displaced amacrine cells.
  Inner plexiform layer – contains the synapse between the bipolar cell axons and the dendrites of the ganglion and amacrine cells.
  Inner nuclear layer – contains the nuclei and surrounding cell bodies (perikarya) of the amacrine cells, bipolar cells, and horizontal cells.
  Outer plexiform layer – projections of rods and cones ending in the rod spherule and cone pedicle, respectively. These make synapses with dendrites of bipolar cells and horizontal cells. In the macular region, this is known as the Fiber layer of Henle.
  Outer nuclear layer – cell bodies of rods and cones.
  External limiting membrane – layer that separates the inner segment portions of the photoreceptors from their cell nuclei.
  Inner segment / outer segment layer – inner segments and outer segments of rods and cones. The outer segments contain a highly specialized light-sensing apparatus.
  Retinal pigment epithelium – single layer of cuboidal epithelial cells (with extrusions not shown in diagram). This layer is closest to the choroid, and provides nourishment and supportive functions to the neural retina, The black pigment melanin in the pigment layer prevents light reflection throughout the globe of the eyeball; this is extremely important for clear vision.
  These layers can be grouped into 4 main processing stages: photoreception; transmission to bipolar cells; transmission to ganglion cells, which also contain photoreceptors, the photosensitive ganglion cells; and transmission along the optic nerve. At each synaptic stage there are also laterally connecting horizontal and amacrine cells.
  The optic nerve is a central tract of many axons of ganglion cells connecting primarily to the lateral geniculate body, a visual relay station in the diencephalon (the rear of the forebrain). It also projects to the superior colliculus, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, and the nucleus of the optic tract. It passes through the other layers, creating the optic disc in primates.
  Additional structures, not directly associated with vision, are found as outgrowths of the retina in some vertebrate groups. In birds, the pecten is a vascular structure of complex shape that projects from the retina into the vitreous humour; it supplies oxygen and nutrients to the eye, and may also aid in vision. Reptiles have a similar, but much simpler, structure.
  In adult humans, the entire retina is approximately 72% of a sphere about 22 mm in diameter. The entire retina contains about 7 million cones and 75 to 150 million rods. The optic disc, a part of the retina sometimes called "the blind spot" because it lacks photoreceptors, is located at the optic papilla, where the optic-nerve fibres leave the eye. It appears as an oval white area of 3 mm². Temporal (in the direction of the temples) to this disc is the macula, at whose centre is the fovea, a pit that is responsible for our sharp central vision but is actually less sensitive to light because of its lack of rods. Human and non-human primates possess one fovea, as opposed to certain bird species, such as hawks, who are bifoviate, and dogs and cats, who possess no fovea but a central band known as the visual streak. Around the fovea extends the central retina for about 6 mm and then the peripheral retina. The farthest edge of the retina is defined by the ora serrata. The distance from one ora to the other (or macula), the most sensitive area along the horizontal meridian is about 32 mm.
  In section, the retina is no more than 0.5 mm thick. It has three layers of nerve cells and two of synapses, including the unique ribbon synapse. The optic nerve carries the ganglion cell axons to 
caption: Section of retina
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