Practical Study in Ocular Anatomy & Physiology

The Eye and its Appendages

j.m.gilchrist@bradford.ac.uk (2010) page 1 of 14

 INTENTIONAL BLANK PAGE

j.m.gilchrist@bradford.ac.uk (2010) page 2 of 14

Part 1 – 30 minutes
Team up with a partner for working in pairs.
Examine the external appearance of your partner’s eyes, following the guide below – 15 mins each
Put  in the box/es adjacent to each structure listed below if you are confident that you can identify
and/or define it.
Put  if you cannot identify and/or define a structure.

External Eye – Landmark Structures

The external eye presents a number of well-defined anatomical structures. Examine the external eye
of your partner and inspect the following landmark structures:

Identify Define

Eyebrow ✓ ✓

Upper Eyelid ✓ ✓

Lower Eyelid ✓ ✓

Medial Canthus ✓ ✓

Lateral Canthus ✓ ✓
Eyelashes ✓ ✓
Palpebral Aperture (Fissure) ✓
✓

Within the palpebral aperture you should be able to identify and define the following structures:

Identify Define

Iris ✓ ✓

Iris Collarette ✓ ✓

Pupil ✓ ✓

Pupillary Ruff ✓ ✓

Cornea ✓ ✓

Sclera ✓ ✓

Limbus ✓ ✓

j.m.gilchrist@bradford.ac.uk (2010) page 3 of 14

Take measurements of the external eye features listed in the table below and record the values:

mm mm

Monocular Pupillary Distance RE 32 LE 33

Palpebral Aperture – Horizontal Size RE 30 LE 30

Palpebral Aperture – Vertical Size RE 10 LE 11

Visible Iris Diameter - Horizontal RE 9 LE 9

Visible Iris Diameter - Vertical RE 10 LE 10

Pupil Diameter RE 2.5 LE 3

External Eye – Additional Structures

Identify Define

Caruncle ✓ ✓

Plica Semilunaris ✓ ✓

Bulbar Conjunctiva ✓ ✓
Palpebral Conjunctiva ✓ ✓

Conjunctival Fornix x x

Conjunctival Vessels ✓ ✓

Episcleral vessels ✓ ✓

Identify Define

Limbal Arcades x x

Lacrimal Papillae ✓ ✓

Lacrimal Puncta ✓ ✓

Lacus Lacrimalis x x

Tarsal Gland Orifices ✓ ✓

j.m.gilchrist@bradford.ac.uk (2010) page 4 of 14

Part 2 – 30 minutes
Work in teams of 3 with one model eye per team
Examine and discuss the structures shown on the model eye
Put  in the box/es adjacent to each structure listed below if you are confident that you can identify
and/or define it.
Put  if you cannot identify and/or define a structure.

Structures of the Lacrimal Apparatus Identify Define

Lacrimal Gland ✓ ✓

Lacrimal Gland Ducts ✓ ✓

Lacrimal Canaliculi ✓ ✓

Lacrimal Sac ✓ ✓

Nasolacrimal Duct ✓ ✓

Orbicularis Muscle of Eyelids ✓ ✓

Levator Palpebrae Muscle ✓ ✓

Structures of the Eye Identify Define

Cornea ✓ ✓

Sclera ✓ ✓

Extraocular Muscles ✓ ✓

Optic Nerve ✓ ✓

Iris ✓ ✓

Ciliary Body ✓ ✓

Choroid ✓ ✓

Retina ✓ ✓

Optic Disc ✓ ✓

Crystalline Lens ✓
✓
Vitreous Body ✓ ✓

j.m.gilchrist@bradford.ac.uk (2010) page 5 of 14

Segments and Chambers of the Eye Identify Define

Anterior Segment ✓ ✓

Posterior Segment ✓ ✓

Anterior Chamber ✓ ✓

Posterior Chamber ✓ ✓

Route of Flow of Aqueous Humour x x

j.m.gilchrist@bradford.ac.uk (2010) page 6 of 14

Part 3 – Offline (before or after the lab session),
in your own time and take as long as necessary

Type definitions in your own words of all the structures from Parts 1 and 2 listed below:

Definitions
Eyebrow The arch of hair above each eye, its main function is to protect the
eye.
Upper Eyelid A thin layer of skin that protects the anterior eye from debris. The
upper movable lid of skin.
Lower Eyelid The lower fold of skin. A thin layer of skin that protects the anterior
eye from debris.
Medial Canthus The angle of the eyelid opening nearest to the midline on the nasal
side of each eye.
Lateral Canthus The lateral angle between the upper and lower eyelid.
Eyelashes (Cilia) Grows at the edge of the eyelid. Protects the eye from debris.
Palpebral Aperture The gap between the margins of the eyelids when the eye is open.
Iris The coloured part of the eye designed to regulate the amount of light
permitted to enter the eye.
Iris Collarette The region of the iris separating the pupillary portion from the ciliary
portion. It can be seen as irregular circular line lying about 1.5 mm
from the pupillary margin
Pupil The aperture through which light enters the eye.
Pupillary Ruff The pupillary ruff is a series of small ridges at the pupillary margin
formed by the continuation of the pigmented epithelium from the
posterior surface.
Cornea The transparent, convex, anterior portion that covers the iris pupil and
is continuous with the sclera.
Sclera The white fibrous membrane that with the cornea forms the covering
of the eyeball.
Limbus The edge of the cornea where it joins the sclera.
Caruncle A small red portion of the corner of the medial portion of the eye.
Plica Semilunaris Soft semilunar fold next to the carnuncle.
Bulbar Conjunctiva A clear membrane of the eye which covers the outer surface of the
eye.
Palpebral Conjunctiva Mucus membrane that lines the inner surface of the upper and lower
eyelids.
Conjunctival Fornix When the lower eyelid is pulled down. This is the transition point from
the palpebral conjunctiva to the bulbar conjunctiva.
Conjunctival Vessels The vessels within the conjunctival layer.
Episcleral vessels The episclera is the outermost layer of the sclera. A vascular plexus is
found between the conjunctiva and the sclera consisting of two layers
of vessels, the superficial episcleral vessels and the deep episcleral
vessels.
Limbal Arcades A series of blood vessels within the limbus.

j.m.gilchrist@bradford.ac.uk (2010) page 7 of 14

Definitions continued ...
Lacrimal Papillae A small elevation 5mm from the medial angle on
the margin of each eyelid.
Lacrimal Puncta Small ducts at the medial canthus that the tears
drain out of.
Lacus Lacrimalis The pool of tears along the lid margin.
Tarsal Gland Orifices Meibomian glands are sebaceous glands at the
rim of the eyelids inside the tarsal plate. They are
responsible for the supply of meibomian, (oily
substance) that prevents evaporation of the tear
film layer.
Lacrimal Gland Almond shaped glands above the outer portion of
each eye. This forms part of the lacrimal
apparatus.
Lacrimal Gland Ducts Connected to the lacrimal gland. One of a
network of structures of the eye that secrete
tears over the surface of the eyeball.
Lacrimal Canaliculi A short passage draining tears from the lacrimal
lake to the lacrimal sac.
Lacrimal Sac The nasal end of the lacrimal ducts that fill with
tears secreted by the lacrimal gland.
Nasolacrimal Duct A duct that carries tears from the lacrimal sac to
the nasal cavity.
Orbicularis Muscle This is a sphincter muscle that surrounds the
eye. It lies in the tissue of the eyelid and causes
the eye to close or blink. It also compresses the
lacrimal gland aiding the flow of tears over the
surface of the eye.
Levator Palpebrae This is the muscle that elevates the superior
eyelid.
Cornea The transparent, convex, anterior portion that
covers the iris pupil and is continuous with the
sclera.
Sclera The white fibrous membrane that with the cornea
forms the covering of the eyeball.
Extraocular Muscles The extraocular muscles are the six muscles that
control the movements of the eye. They are the
superior and inferior oblique, superior and inferior
rectus and the lateral and medial rectus.
Optic Nerve Second cranial nerve II that arises from the retina
and carries visual information to the brain.
Iris The coloured part of the eye designed to regulate
the amount of light permitted to enter the eye.
Ciliary Body Tissue that includes a group of muscles that acts
on the eye lens to produce accommodation.
Choroid The middle, vascular coat of the eye, between
the sclera and the retina. This layer supplies
nutrients to the inner eye.
Retina The light sensitive nerve layer that lines the back
of the eye. The retina senses light creating
impulses to the optic nerve.
Optic Disc This is the spot on the retina where the optic
nerve leaves the eye. There are no light sensitive
cells. This is a blind spot.
Crystalline Lens Biconvex transparent lens situated behind the
iris. Its function is to aid accommodation to focus
light onto the retina.

j.m.gilchrist@bradford.ac.uk (2010) page 8 of 14

Vitreous Body The vitreous body is a semisolid gel structure. It
fills the space between the lens and the retina
and it is filled with vitreous humor which is made
up of a form of collagen, vitrosin, and hyaluronic
acid
Anterior Segment This is the front third of the eye that includes the
structures in front of the vitreous humour: the
cornea, iris, ciliary body, and lens. It is made up
of two sections the anterior chamber between the
posterior surface of the cornea and the iris, and
The posterior chamber between the iris and the
front face of the vitreous.
Posterior Segment The posterior segment is the back two-thirds of
the eye this includes all of the optical structures
behind the anterior segment including the
vitreous humor, retina, choroid, and optic nerve
Anterior Chamber This is the fluid-filled space inside the eye
between the iris and the cornea. This chamber is
filled with Aqueous humor.
Posterior Chamber The posterior chamber is the space between the
back of the iris and the front face of the vitreous;
filled with aqueous fluid
Route of Aqueous

-Aqueous humour is secreted into the posterior

chamber by the ciliary body, specifically the pars
pilcata

.It flows through the narrow cleft between the

front of the lens and the back of the iris, to
escape through the pupil into the anterior
chamber, and then to drain out of the eye via the
trabecular meshwork.

It then drains into Schlemm's canal by one of

two ways: directly, via aqueous vein to the
episcleral vein, or indirectly, via collector
channels to the episcleral vein by intrascleral
plexus and eventually into the veins of the orbit.

j.m.gilchrist@bradford.ac.uk (2010) page 9 of 14

j.m.gilchrist@bradford.ac.uk (2010) page 10 of 14
j.m.gilchrist@bradford.ac.uk (2010) page 11 of 14
j.m.gilchrist@bradford.ac.uk (2010) page 12 of 14
j.m.gilchrist@bradford.ac.uk (2010) page 13 of 14
j.m.gilchrist@bradford.ac.uk (2010) page 14 of 14