Lens (eye) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Crystalline lens (anatomy) |
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| Light from a single point of a distant object and light from a single point of a near object being brought to a focus by changing the curvature of the lens. | |
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| Schematic diagram of the human eye. | |
| Latin | lens crystallina |
| Gray's | subject #226 1019 |
| MeSH | Crystalline+lens |
The crystalline lens is a transparent, biconvex structure in the eye. With the cornea it helps to refract light to be focused on the retina. The lens changes shape. This changes the focal distance of the eye so that it can focus on objects at various distances. This adjustment of the lens is called accommodation. It is similar to the focusing of a photographic camera when it focuses its lenses. The lens is flatter on the inside.
The lens is also called the aquula (Latin, a little stream, dim. of aqua, water) or crystalline lens. In humans, the refractive power of the lens in its natural environment is approximately 18 dioptres. This is about one-third of the eye's total power.
Contents
Structure
The lens is part of the anterior segment of the human eye. In front of the lens is the iris, which regulates the amount of light entering into the eye. The lens is suspended in place by the suspensory ligament of the lens, a ring of fibrous tissue that attaches to the lens at its equator and connects it to the ciliary body. Posterior to the lens is the vitreous body, which, along with the aqueous humor on the anterior surface, bathes the lens. The lens has an ellipsoid, biconvex shape. The anterior surface is less curved than the posterior. In the adult, the lens is typically circa 10 mm in diameter and has an axial length of about 4 mm, though it is important to note that the size and shape can change due to accommodation and because the lens continues to grow throughout a person's lifetime.
Histology
The lens has three main parts: the lens capsule, the lens epithelium, and the lens fibers. The lens capsule forms the outermost layer of the lens and the lens fibers form the bulk of the interior of the lens. The cells of the lens epithelium, located between the lens capsule and the outermost layer of lens fibers, are found only on the anterior side of the lens. The lens itself lacks nerves, blood vessels, or connective tissue.
Lens capsule
The lens capsule is a smooth, transparent basement membrane that completely surrounds the lens. The capsule is elastic and is composed of collagen. It is synthesized by the lens epithelium and its main components are Type IV collagen and sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). The capsule is very elastic and so allows the lens to assume a more globular shape when not under the tension of the zonular fibers, which connect the lens capsule to the ciliary body. The capsule varies from 2 to 28 micrometres in thickness, being thickest near the equator and thinnest near the posterior pole.
Lens epithelium
The lens epithelium, located in the anterior portion of the lens between the lens capsule and the lens fibers, is a simple cuboidal epithelium. The cells of the lens epithelium regulate most of the homeostatic functions of the lens. As ions, nutrients, and liquid enter the lens from the aqueous humor, Na+/K+-ATPase pumps in the lens epithelial cells pump ions out of the lens to maintain appropriate lens osmotic concentration and volume, with equatorially positioned lens epithelium cells contributing most to this current. The activity of the Na+/K+-ATPases keeps water and current flowing through the lens from the poles and exiting through the equatorial regions.
The cells of the lens epithelium also serve as the progenitors for new lens fibers. It constantly lays down fibers in the embryo, fetus, infant, and adult, and continues to lay down fibers for lifelong growth.
Lens fibers
The lens fibers form the bulk of the lens. They are long, thin, transparent cells, firmly packed, with diameters typically 4–7 micrometres and lengths of up to 12 mm long. The lens fibers stretch lengthwise from the posterior to the anterior poles and, when cut horizontally, are arranged in concentric layers rather like the layers of an onion. If cut along the equator, it appears as a honeycomb. The middle of each fiber lies on the equator. These tightly packed layers of lens fibers are referred to as laminae. The lens fibers are linked together via gap junctions and interdigitations of the cells that resemble "ball and socket" forms.
The lens is split into regions depending on the age of the lens fibers of a particular layer. Moving outwards from the central, oldest layer, the lens is split into an embryonic nucleus, the fetal nucleus, the adult nucleus, and the outer cortex. New lens fibers, generated from the lens epithelium, are added to the outer cortex. Mature lens fibers have no organelles or nuclei.
Related pages
Images for kids
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An image that is partially in focus, but mostly out of focus in varying degrees.
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MRI scan of human eye showing lens.
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Interior of anterior chamber of eye.
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The crystalline lens, hardened and divided.
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Section through the margin of the lens, showing the transition of the epithelium into the lens fibers.
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The structures of the eye labeled
See also
In Spanish: Cristalino para niños
