Retina

Definition

The retina is a thin layer of tissue located at the back of the eye, containing cells that are sensitive to light and trigger nerve impulses that pass via the optic nerve to the brain, where a visual image is formed. It plays a crucial role in converting light into neural signals for visual recognition.

Related terms

Photoreceptor cells: These are specialized neurons in the retina that convert light into electrical signals which can be interpreted by the brain as visual images.

Optic nerve: This is a bundle of more than a million nerve fibers that carries visual information from the retina to the brain for processing.

Visual cortex: The part of the cerebral cortex responsible for processing visual information received from the eyes through the optic nerve