EYE IGCSE

1. Sclera: the tough outer coat of the eye, which is the visible, white
part of the eye. It protects the eyeball from mechanical damage.

2. Cornea: at the front of the eye the sclera becomes a transparent

'window' which is the cornea-this lets light into the eye, refracting or
bending the light rays into the eye. This plays a key part in the focusing
of an image on the retina.

3. Choroid: this is the middle layer of the eye (between the sclera and
the retina), it is black, preventing reflection of light in the interior of
the eyeball. (It also contains blood vessel that bring oxygen and
nutrients to the eyeball and remove metabolic waste products.)

4. Ciliary body: this contains a circular ciliary muscle (just call it ciliary
muscle) which is attached to the lens with the suspensory ligaments.
These play a huge role in accomodation-which is basically changing the
shape of the lens to focus light onto the retina so an image may be
formed.

5.Iris: this is in front of the lens, it is a circular diaphragm controlling

the amount of light entering the eye.

EYE IGCSE
6. Pupil: this is basically a hole/opening in the iris to let light through.

7. Retina: this is inside the choroid layer, it is a light-sensitive

membrane with neurones and photoreceptor cells. There are 2 types of
photoreceptor cells: rods and cones. Cones enables us to see colours in
bright light while rods enable us to see in black and white in dim light.
The photoreceptors are connected to the nerve-endings from the optic
nerve.

8. Macula: NOT NEEDED. Fyi, the fovea is in the centre of the macula.
Basically, this is where visual perception is most acute.

9. Optic nerve: A nerve that transmits nerve impulses to the brain when
the photoreceptors in the retina are stimulated.

10. Optic disc: NOT NEEDED. Fyi, this connects the retina to the optic
nerve.

11. Vitreous humour: A transparent, jelly-like substance. This keeps the

eyeball firm and helps to refract light onto the retina too.

12. Aqueous humour: A transparent, watery fluid. This keeps the front
of the eyeball firm and helps to refract light into the pupil.

13. Canal of Schlemm: NOT NEEDED. Fyi, this is basically just a channel
in the eye that collects aqueous humour and moves it into the
bloodstream.

14. Lens: A transparent, circular, biconvex structure. It is elastic and

changes it shape or thickness to refract light onto the retina.

15. Conjunctiva: this is a thin transparent membrane covering the

sclera in front. It is a mucous membrane, it secretes mucus, thus
keeping the front of the eyeball moist.
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EYE IGCSE
The light coming in to the eye needs to be focused on the back of the
eye (the retina) for you to see clearly.
Long-sightedness (hyperopia)
Some people have eyes that are too short, which means the light
focuses behind the retina (they are long-sighted). This means that they
have to focus more than they should do, particularly on things that are
close up.

Normally, light is focussed by the cornea and lens to form a sharp

image on the retina.

Long-sightedness occurs when the eyeball is slightly too short

so that objects are in focus behind the retina at the back of the
eye.

This may result in blurred vision when looking in the distance

and particularly when looking at near objects and reading.

When we are young, we overcome long-sightedness by bulging

out the lens in the eye.

However, as we get older, the lens gets harder and can no longer
bulge out enough.

Long-sightedness can be corrected by glasses or contact lenses.

Short-sightedness (myopia)
Other people have eyes that are too long, so the light focuses in front
of the retina (they are short-sighted). This means that they cannot see
things clearly if they are far away from them (such as the TV or board
at school).

EYE IGCSE

Normally, light is focussed by the cornea and lens to form a sharp

image on the retina.

Sometimes the eyeball is too long for the shape of the cornea

so the light comes to a focus before it reaches the retina.

As a result, objects in the distance are blurred

although close objects are usually clear.

Short-sightedness can be corrected by glasses or contact lenses.

These lenses correct the vision so that distant objects are clear
once again.

Both conditions can ruhn in families and both are easily treated with
glasses.