anatomy

Question 1

The epithelium.

Answer 1

This is the outer layer that protects your cornea, and it’s the one that can get scratched and be very painful if you get contact lenses that don’t fit right.

Question 2

Bowman’s membrane.

Answer 2

This is a layer of tough fibers that helps protect your cornea

Question 3

The stroma.

Answer 3

This is the thickest part of your cornea, making up almost 90% of its width.

Question 4

Descemet’s (pronounced dess-a-may’s) membrane.

Answer 4

This thin layer covers the next layer of the cornea like a wrapper.

Question 5

The endothelium.

Answer 5

This is the innermost layer of the cornea. It acts a little like a housekeeper, mopping up and getting rid of excess water that accumulates in the cornea. Over the years, it gets less efficient, and that can lead to hazy vision.

Question 6

The prefix kera refers to what?

Answer 6

the tough keratin cells in the cornea.

Question 7

iris,

Answer 7

the colored part of the eye.

Question 8

pupil.

Answer 8

The hole in the center of your iris

Question 9

the lens.

Answer 9

The big, clear eye part behind the pupil

Question 10

The vitreous, or vitreous humor,

Answer 10

a colorless, gelatin-like substance that fills the inside of the eye behind the lens. It attaches to the retina, which we’ll talk about next, and helps to keep the eyeball round. As we age, the vitreous fibers can clump and stick to other cells and debris inside the eye and cause us to see floaters, or string-like floating tiny objects.

Question 11

retina,

Answer 11

the nerve and pigment layer that lines the inside of the eye. It’s 10 cell layers thick,

Question 12

macula.

Answer 12

In the center of the retina, you’ll find an area called the macula. If a ray of light goes through the center of the cornea all the way back to the retina, it will hit the macula.

Question 13

fovea.

Answer 13

In the macula, you’ll find the fovea. This is the portion of the retina that gives us the sharpest vision.

Question 14

extraocular muscles.

Answer 14

extraocular muscles. (Ocular is a word that simply means related to the eye, and extraocular means outside the eye.)

Question 15

The superior rectus muscle.

Answer 15

The superior rectus muscle attaches to the top of your eye and pulls your eye upward.

Question 16

The inferior rectus muscle

Answer 16

The inferior rectus muscle attaches to the bottom of your eye and pulls your eye downward. In medical jargon, superior usually means on the top, and inferior usually means on the bottom.

Question 17

the lateral rectus muscle

Answer 17

the lateral rectus muscle moves your eye outward, Lateral, means to the side, like a lateral pass in football.

Question 18

the medial rectus muscle,

Answer 18

moves your eye inward (toward your nose). Here’s a helpful memory trick. Medial sounds like middle, and that’s the muscle that pulls your eye in toward the middle.

Question 19

the superior and inferior oblique muscles.

Answer 19

The last pair of eye muscles move the eye in a diagonal or circular motion. They’re called the superior and inferior oblique muscles. Again, the superior ones are near the top, and the inferior ones are near the bottom.

Question 20

The superior oblique muscles

Answer 20

are attached at an angle at the upper part of your eyeball. They wrap around the inner part of your eye, acting like pulleys to rotate the eye and to move it down and out.

Question 21

The inferior oblique muscles

Answer 21

are attached at an angle from the bottom part of the eye and wrap around the inner part of the eyeball, moving the eyeball up and out when they contract.

Question 22

levator muscles

Answer 22

The muscles you use to open your eyes

Question 23

orbicularis muscles.

Answer 23

and the muscles that work when you squeeze your eyes closed