{"id":2467,"date":"2021-07-01T18:58:27","date_gmt":"2021-07-02T01:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/?p=2467"},"modified":"2021-07-01T18:58:27","modified_gmt":"2021-07-02T01:58:27","slug":"mcat-eye-anatomy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/mcat-eye-anatomy\/","title":{"rendered":"MCAT Eye Anatomy: Eye Structure & Function"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MCAT<\/p>\n

Want to familiarize yourself with MCAT eye anatomy content? Below, we’ll cover everything you should study: the functions, diagram, and photoreceptor comparison. Also be encouraged to check out our overview of all MCAT biology and biochemistry topics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Plus, click the link below for a handy PDF version of this overview, and for many other MCAT resources! <\/p>\n

\"Click<\/a><\/p>\n

The Human Eye: Structure and Function<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Structure<\/th>\nFunction<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Cornea<\/td>\nOutermost lens of the eye responsible for the majority of light refraction<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aqueous humor<\/td>\nFluid that adds refractive power<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Iris\/Pupil <\/td>\nColored tissue that regulates the amount of light entering the eye through the central pupil <\/p>\n

*KEY CONCEPT: <\/strong> The pupil dilates in low light conditions and constricts in high light conditions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Lens<\/td>\nFocuses light, bends to allow accommodation<\/p>\n

*KEY CONCEPT: <\/strong> Accommodation: altering the lens so the eye can focus on both near and far objects<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Ciliary Body<\/td>\nChanges shape of lens during accommodation <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vitreous Humor<\/td>\nJelly-like substance that fills the inner eye<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sclera<\/td>\nTough outer coat for protection and muscle attachment<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Retina<\/td>\nLight sensitive layer over the back of the eye containing photoreceptors <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Macula\/Fovea<\/td>\nArea of the retina with high visual activity due to high concentration of cones<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Optic nerve<\/td>\nCarries information from the retina to the occipital lobe of the brain. The blind spot is where the nerve exits the eye.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

MCAT Eye Anatomy: Diagram of the Human Eye<\/h2>\n

Light refracts (bends) as it passes sequentially through the cornea, aqueous humor, lens, and vitreous humor. Errors in refraction cause visual defects which can be corrected by contacts or glasses. Myopia and hyperopia are two types of refractive error.<\/p>\n

Here is a basic diagram of the human eye, so you can get a sense of this process: <\/p>\n

\"MCT<\/p>\n

Comparison of Photoreceptors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/th>\nRods<\/th>\nCones<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Used For<\/td>\nNight vision, low resolution <\/td>\nDay vision, high resolution<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Primary Location<\/td>\nPeriphery of retina<\/td>\nCentral retina: macula and fovea<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Relative Number<\/td>\nMore<\/td>\nFewer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Colors Perceived<\/td>\nNone<\/td>\nRed, blue, green<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

MCAT Eye Anatomy: A Final Word<\/h2>\n

As always, the goal of studying isn’t just memorization. Rather than trying to cram all of the human eye structures and functions into your mind, focus on how these parts work together to create the phenomenon of vision! <\/p>\n

If you’d like more MCAT eye anatomy practice, we highly encourage you to check out Magoosh’s MCAT prep<\/a>. It includes 380 lessons, 745+ practice questions, personalized email assistance, and more! Happy studying and good luck on the MCAT!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An overview of MCAT eye anatomy content, including the human eye structure and function, and comparison of photoreceptors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":218,"featured_media":2479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[2332],"class_list":["post-2467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mcat-biology"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMCAT Eye Anatomy: Eye Structure & Function - Magoosh MCAT Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An overview of MCAT eye anatomy content, including the human eye structure and function, and comparison of photoreceptors.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/mcat-eye-anatomy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MCAT Eye Anatomy: Eye Structure & Function\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An overview of MCAT eye anatomy content, including the human eye structure and function, and comparison of photoreceptors.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/mcat-eye-anatomy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Magoosh MCAT Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-07-02T01:58:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2021\/07\/MCAT-Eye-Anatomy-featured.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kat Thomson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kat Thomson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/mcat-eye-anatomy\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/mcat-eye-anatomy\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kat Thomson\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/person\/e3e7b201569a0128201896d6a7d430e6\"},\"headline\":\"MCAT Eye Anatomy: Eye Structure & Function\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-07-02T01:58:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/mcat-eye-anatomy\/\"},\"wordCount\":224,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems (Bio\/Biochem)\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/mcat-eye-anatomy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/mcat-eye-anatomy\/\",\"name\":\"MCAT Eye Anatomy: Eye Structure & Function - 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She has a BA from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Ph.D. in medical sociology from the University of California, San Francisco, where she earned the Distinguished Dissertation Award in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Kat has been teaching premed and nursing students since 2005 as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of San Francisco, Bowdoin, and the University of California, Berkeley, while collaborating on multiple research projects and <a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?user=yAi12ZYAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">publications<\/a>. In addition to the MCAT, Kat has taught courses in Research Methods, Gender, Global and Environmental Health, and others. She is passionate about increasing the number of underrepresented minorities in medicine and helping students get into the medical schools of their dreams. You can join Kat on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/magooshmcat\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Instagram<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCeSvixReLLS6squ5Adhe0wQ\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">YouTube<\/a>."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/218"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2467"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=2467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}