Anatomy
The RPE is composed of a single layer of hexagonal cells that are densely packed with pigment granules.
At the ora serrata, the RPE continues as a membrane passing over the ciliary body and continuing as the back surface of the iris. This generates the fibers of the dilator. Directly beneath this epithelium is the neuroepithelium (i.e., rods and cones)passes jointly with the RPE. Both, combined, are understood to be the ciliary epithelium of the embryo. The front end continuation of the retina is the posterior iris epithelium, which takes on pigment when it enters the iris
When viewed from the outer surface, these cells are smooth and hexagonal in shape. When seen in section, each cell consists of an outer non-pigmented part containing a large oval nucleus and an inner pigmented portion which extends as a series of straight thread-like processes between the rods, this being especially the case when the eye is exposed to light.
Read more about this topic: Retinal Pigment Epithelium
Famous quotes containing the word anatomy:
“I love to see, when leaves depart,
The clear anatomy arrive,”
—Roy Campbell (1902–1957)
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“But a man must keep an eye on his servants, if he would not have them rule him. Man is a shrewd inventor, and is ever taking the hint of a new machine from his own structure, adapting some secret of his own anatomy in iron, wood, and leather, to some required function in the work of the world. But it is found that the machine unmans the user. What he gains in making cloth, he loses in general power.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)