The Visual System
The visual system contributes to balance by helping the brain to determine the orientation of your body. Light travels into the eye through the lens, through the pupil, goes through the aqueous and vitreous humor, and then hits the retina. The pieces of the retina turn the light images into electrical signals. These signals are sent to the visual cortex of the brain via the optic nerve.
The lens is a clear structure that flips the image seen, and projects it onto the retina.
The pupil is a hole in the center of the eye that lets light travel into the eye and to the lens. The size of the pupil is controlled by the iris.
The retina is perhaps the most important component of the visual system. As seen in the diagram above, the retina is a film across the back of the eyeball. Light is projected onto the retina via the lens, and it is then converted into electrical signals by structures called rods and cones. Rods are responsible for black and white images, and cones are responsible for color. The images detected by the visual system are sent to the brain, where they are used to determine orientation with respect to objects around the body.
The lens is a clear structure that flips the image seen, and projects it onto the retina.
The pupil is a hole in the center of the eye that lets light travel into the eye and to the lens. The size of the pupil is controlled by the iris.
The retina is perhaps the most important component of the visual system. As seen in the diagram above, the retina is a film across the back of the eyeball. Light is projected onto the retina via the lens, and it is then converted into electrical signals by structures called rods and cones. Rods are responsible for black and white images, and cones are responsible for color. The images detected by the visual system are sent to the brain, where they are used to determine orientation with respect to objects around the body.