Understanding how your body works is one of the best steps to keeping it healthy. One area of mystery for many people is how our eyes work.
What Makes Up the Eye?
Cornea
The things we see are all transmitted to the eye in the form of light or light particles. As light hits the eye is passes through the outermost layer known as the cornea. The cornea is transparent.
Iris and Pupil
After light passes the corner it then comes into contact with the iris. The iris is the part of your eye that is colored (blue, green, brown, etc.) and in the center of the iris is the pupil which is black in color. The iris and pupil adjust their size as a response to light; contract when there are high levels and expand when there are low levels.
Crystalline Lens
Directly behind the iris and pupil lies the crystalline lens, sometimes just referred to as the lens of the eye. The lens changes shape to help focus the light that has passed through the pupil. The flattening or constricting of the lens enables us to see objects that are farther or closer respectively.
Vitreous Humor
After light has passed through the former regions it enters a thick solution known as the vitreous humor. Light traverses through the vitreous humor until it comes into contact with one of the last layers of the interior of the eye; the retina.
Retina
Within the retina contains the sclera which contributes much of the white color to the human eye. Inside of the retina you will find millions of cells that are very sensitive to light that are classified as either cones or rods.
Cones and Rods
The function of rods is primarily monochrome or black and white vision while cones are well suited for our perception of color. Each of these cells sends certain electrical signals to the brain which are then interpreted as vision.
All these factors determine how our eyes work.
