What does the child use for eyes?
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Home Eye Health Other Eye Conditions Development Of The Eye
Development Of The Eye
Written by Purrven Bajjaj, B Optom, MSc Clinical Optom.
A brief overview
The ability to see is an amazing journey that starts from the process of fertilization (during embryonic development) to the first few months of life (post-natal). When a baby leaves the dark, quiet, and comfortable environment of the womb and enters the bright world we live in, what can they see? From birth, babies are able to blink in response to light and develop the ability to follow moving objects.
Vision is closely linked to brain development and as a baby’s brain matures, so too does their eyesight. The following sections will discuss about how the structures needed for sight develop, the key visual milestones of a baby, and some frequently asked questions about a child’s vision. For understanding purposes, kindly note that from conception till birth, a baby is called an embryo and after the 8th week till birth, a foetus.
Some basic structures of the human eye
Figure 1. Structures of the human eye (Shutterstock, 2021).
In order to ease your understanding in the following sections, here are some brief definitions of the basic structures of the human eye:
• CORNEA : the transparent thin layer that covers the front portion of the eye
• IRIS : the coloured tissue at the front of the eye
• PUPIL : the dark spot at the centre of the eye. In bright light, the iris expands and the pupil gets smaller, reducing the amount of light entering the eye. In low light, the iris shrinks and the pupil gets bigger, allowing more light to enter the eye
• LENS : as light enters the eye, it hits the lens, which sits behind the pupil and functions to direct light towards the back of the eye. The lens is responsible for the “focusing mechanism” of the eye, producing clear vision
• VITREOUS : the transparent jelly located behind the lens that fills the eyeball
• RETINA : the light sensitive tissue at the back of the eye that contains millions of light sensitive cells called rods and cones. Rods allow us to see in dim light and cones allow us to detect and distinguish colour
• MACULA : the area of the retina that allows us to enjoy clear central vision and colour
• OPTIC NERVE : the structure that sends all visual messages to the brain, producing clear vision