In: Anatomy and Physiology
Trace the pathway of light through the eye to the retina, and explain how light is focused for distant and close vision.
Eye has two refractive surfaces- cornea and the lens.
the refractive capacity of the cornea is more than that of lens. the refractive capacity of the cornea is fixed, but for lens it can vary.
Pathway of light
light coming from the object- falls on the cornea (refraction takes place)- passes through the aqueous chamber- falls on the lens (Further refraction takes place here)- passes through the vitreous and get focused on the fovea centralis of the retina.
For distant vision
light rays coming to the eye are parallel to each other. Further steps are as mentioned as above. No other changes occurs in the lens of the eye and light falls normally on the retina (Ciliary muscles of the lens is relaxed).
For near vision
the light rays coming to the eyes are divergent . So more refractive power is needed by the eye to focus it on retina and it is done by the increasing the curvature of the lens with increases the refractive power of the lens (lens curvature can be increased by the contraction of ciliary muscles).