Examination of vision

theoretical background
the eyeball
the optical system of the eye
the visual field
practical examination
- visual acuity
- refractive errors
- accomodation
- adaptation
- blind spot
- visual field
- color vision
- optical illusions
Outline
is the part of the central nervous systemwhich enables
organisms to process visual detail
it interprets information from visible light to build a
representation of the surrounding world
assimilate information from the environment (70-75%)
the resulting perception: eyesight, sight, or vision
3 segments:
receptor level (eyeball)
visual pathways
central level (cortical and subcortical structures)
The visual system
complex tasks:
reception of light
formation of monocular representations
construction of a binocular perception from a pair of
two dimensional projections
identification and categorization of visual objects
assessing distances to and between objects
guiding body movements in relation to visual objects
non-image forming functions (e.g. pupillary light
reflex, circadian photoentrainment)
The visual system
complex role: optical device, signal transducer, neural
processor
structure: three coats enclosing transparent structures
The eyeball
Outer layer:
sclera white, fibrous, protective
- contains collagen and elastic fibers
- muscles attached to the sclera
cornea transparent, covers the iris, pupil, and anterior
chamber
- refracts light (accounts for approximately 2/3 of the eye's
total optical power, fixed focus)
- avascular, rich sensitive innervation
the cornea and sclera are connected by a ring called the
limbus
The eyeball
Middle layer:
choroid - the vascular layer of eye
- contains connective tissue
- provides oxygen and nourishment to the outer
layers of the retina
- pigmented, reduces the reflexions of light
ciliary body
- roles: accommodation, aqueous humor production
- anchors the lens in place
iris
- regulates the amount of light entering the eye:
muscles attached to the iris expand or contract the
aperture at the center of the iris (pupil)
The eyeball
Middle layer:
zonule of Zinn
- ring of fibrous strands
- connects the ciliary body with the crystalline lens of
the eye
lens
- flexible
- changes the focal distance of eye
- thus the eye can focus on objects at various
distances (accommodation)
The eyeball
Inner layer:
retina
- neural structure
- senses light
- receptor cells: rods and cones (S, M, L)
- neurons: bipolar and ganglion cells
- gets its circulation from the vessels of the choroid as
well as the retinal vessels - can be seen in an
ophthalmoscope
The eyeball
within these coats:
aqueous humor: a clear fluid
- is contained in two areas:
- the anterior chamber between the cornea and the
iris and exposed area of the lens
- the posterior chamber, behind the iris, in front of the
zonule and rest of the lens
vitreous body
- clear jelly
- is bordered by the sclera, zonule, and lens
The eyeball
geometry: not properly a sphere,
rather it is a fused two-piece unit
smaller frontal unit, more
curved (r = 8 mm)
larger posterior unit (r =
12 mm)
fundus (area opposite the
pupil) shows the
characteristic pale optic disk
(papilla), where vessels
entering the eye pass across
and optic nerve fibers depart
the globe.
The eyeball
image formation:
dioptre (diopter): unit of measurement of the optical power of a lens or curved
mirror, which is equal to the reciprocal of the focal length measured in metres
(that is, 1/metres)
cornea: 42 D, lens: 18 D, total ~ 60 D
The optical system of the eye
Visual pathways
Visual field
theoretical background
the eyeball
the optical system of the eye
the visual field
practical examination
- visual acuity
- refractive errors
- accomodation
- adaptation
- blind spot
- visual field
- color vision
- optical illusions
Outline
acuteness or clearness of vision
tested using an optotype (Snellen chart) read from
a distance of 5 (minimal accomadation)
expressed as a vulgar fraction:
numerator: the distance between the subject and the
chart
denominator: the distance at which the lines that make
up those letters would be separated by a visual angle of
1 arc minute
e. g. normal: 5/5
lenses of varying powers are used to precisely
correct for refractive errors
Visual acuity
Visual acuity
Tumbling E Chart
Visual acuity
Tumbling E Chart
Landolt C (Landolt ring)
an error in the focusing of light by the eye
a frequent reason for reduced visual acuity
no refractive error when viewing distant objects:
emmetropia or emmetropic eye
the eye can focus parallel rays of light (light from distant
objects) on the retina, without using any accommodation;
a distant object in this case is defined as an object 5
meters or further away from the eye
refractive error when viewing distant objects: ametropia or
ametropic eye: when not using accommodation, the eye
cannot focus parallel rays of light (light from distant objects)
on the retina
types of ametropia: categorized as spherical errors and
cylindrical errors
spherical errors occur when the optical power of the eye is
either too large or too small to focus light on the retina
Refractive (refraction) errors
myopia (nearsightedness): when the optics are too
powerful for the length of the eyeball; can arise from a
cornea with too much curvature (refractive myopia) or an
eyeball that is too long (axial myopia)
correction:
Myopia
hyperopia (farsightedness): when the optics are too weak
for the length of the eyeball; can arise from a cornea with not
enough curvature (refractive hyperopia) or an eyeball that is
too short (axial hyperopia)
correction:
Hyperopia
the process by which the vertebrate eye changes optical
power to maintain a clear image (focus) on an object as its
distance changes
reflex, but can also be consciously controlled
by changing the form of the elastic lens using the ciliary
body
Accommodation
the amplitude of accommodation declines with age: by the
fifth decade of life the accommodative amplitude has
declined so the near point of the eye is more remote than
the reading distance = presbyopia
emmetropic eye (does not require optical correction for
distance vision) needs an optical aid for near vision
myopic eye (nearsighted, requires an optical correction
for distance vision) less correction needed
hyperopic eye (farsighted) - needs a correction for both
distance and near vision
Accommodation
curtain experiment: one can look through the window at a
distant tree, or can adjust our eyes so as to see the curtain,
bot never in the same time
Scheiners experiment: uses a card with two minute holes,
separated from each other by less than the diameter of the
pupil, one looks at a pin; at a short distance from the eye
the pin appears double; as it is moved from the eye a point
is found where it appears single, and beyond which it
remains single for the emmetropic eye, but for the myopic
eye it soon again becomes double
Holes 1.5 mm
in diameter
3.5 mm from
centre to centre
Holes 1.5 mm
in diameter
3.5 mm from
centre to centre
Holes 1.5 mm
in diameter
3.5 mm from
centre to centre
Accommodation
Purkinje-Sanson experiment: three images of the same
object, produced by reflections from the surface of the
cornea and the anterior and posterior surface of the lens,
the images on the two anterior surfaces are virtual and
noninverted, and the image on the posterior surface is real
and inverted (the viewer adapts to this phenomenon and
ignores these normal images)
Accommodation
the human eye can function from very dark to very
bright levels of light; its sensing capabilities reach
across nine orders of magnitude
two mechanisms:
Adaptation
pupillary light reflex, adjusting the
amount of light that reaches the
retina
- myosis:
contraction of the pupil
- mydriosis:
dilatation of the pupil
changes in the sensitivity of rods
and cones in the eye
Recovery time of a retinal pigment:
a strong white light is projected in the eye for 3-4 sec, then is
turned off and a weak light is turned on (one of the basis colors)
the time is measured from the moment of turning off the white
light to the moment when the colored light is detected (normal:
< 10 sec)
Latency:
the time from the application of the light stimulus to the
appearance of activity in the optic nerve (~1/10 sec)
Persistance:
the sensation of light remains for ~0.15 sec after the end of the
stimulus
Flicker fusion threshold (or flicker fusion rate)
the frequency at which an intermittent light stimulus appears to
be completely steady to the observer
Adaptation
cylindrical refraction error
the optical power of the eye is too powerful or too weak
across one meridian (as if the overall lens tends towards a
cylindrical shape along that meridian)
blurred vision - due to the inability of the optics of the eye
to focus a point object into a sharp focused image on the
retina
Placido keratoscope
Astigmatism
Mariott's test
close your left eye and stare at the square mark in the
diagram with your right eye, off to the right you should be
able to see the spot
slowly move toward the computer screen (or paper),
keep looking at the square mark while you move
at a particular distance the spot will disappear (it will
reappear again if you move even closer)
the spot disappears because it falls on the optic disc
for the left eye, stare at the spot and notice the
disappearance of the square
Blind spot
perimetry is the systematic measurement visual field -
detection of the presence of test targets on a defined
background
Visual field
Visual field
due to disease or disorders of the eye, optic nerve, or
brain
scotoma
Visual field loss
due to disease or disorders of the eye, optic nerve, or
brain
hemianopia / quadrantanopia
Visual field loss
the capacity of an organism or machine to distinguish
objects based on the wavelengths (or frequencies) of the
light they reflect, emit, or transmit
dyschromatopsia color vision deficiency is the decreased
ability to perceive differences between some of the colors
that others can distinguish
Color vision
Optical illusions
Stare, unfocused, at the red cross for 10 seconds then look at white wall!
Optical illusions
negative afterimage
negative afterimage
Optical illusions
Stare, unfocused, at the flag for 10 seconds then look at white wall
negative afterimage
Optical illusions
Cyan
Magenta
Yellow
negative afterimage
Optical illusions
Optical illusions
lilac chaser
cognitive illusions are assumed to arise by
interaction with assumptions about the world
Necker cube
Optical illusions
cognitive illusions are assumed to arise by
interaction with assumptions about the world
Rubin vase
Optical illusions
cognitive illusions are assumed to arise by
interaction with assumptions about the world
ambiguous image
Optical illusions
cognitive illusions are assumed to arise by
interaction with assumptions about the world
Kanizsa triangle
Optical illusions
cognitive illusions are assumed to arise by
interaction with assumptions about the world
Optical illusions
Mller-Lyer illusion
distorting illusions are characterized by distortions of
size, length, or curvature
Optical illusions
cafe-wall illusion
distorting illusions are characterized by distortions of
size, length, or curvature
Optical illusions
Optical illusions
simultaneous contrast
Optical illusions
Optical illusions
Optical illusions
Optical illusions