Rod Cell - Structure and Function

Structure and Function

Rods are a little wider than cones but have the same structural basis. The pigment is on the outer side, lying on the pigment epithelium, completing the cell's homeostasis. This epithelium end contains many stacked disks. Rods have a high area for visual pigment and thus substantial efficiency of light absorption. Because they have only one type of light-sensitive pigment, rather than the three types that human cone cells have, rods have little, if any, role in colored vision.

Like cones, rod cells have a synaptic terminal, an inner segment, and an outer segment. The synaptic terminal forms a synapse with another neuron, for example a bipolar cell. The inner and outer segments are connected by a cilium, which lines the distal jsegment. The inner segment contains organelles and the cell's nucleus, while the rod outer segment (abbreviated to ROS), which is pointed toward the back of the eye, contains the light-absorbing materials.