3970 Turkeyfoot Rd. Erlanger, KY 41018 | 9479 Loveland Madeira Rd. Cincinnati, Ohio 45242
Erlanger • 859-534-1498 | Cincinnati • 513-791-3336

How The Eye Works

At Infocus, we believe education is one of our best tools. Your eyes are fascinating and intricate organs that allow you to see the word around you. Dr. Michelle Howell and the entire staff at Infocus want you to share with you how your eyes detect and focus light to create images.

Eyes are the organs of vision. Through a complex process, they detect and focus light to create images. Vision begins when light rays are reflected off of an object and enters the eye through the cornea and then pupil. It then passes through the crystalline lens which refracts light to be focused on the retina. By changing shape, the lens functions to change the focal distance of the eye so it can focus on objects at various distances. When light hits the retina, tiny cells, rods, and cones, capture the light signals and convert them into electrochemical impulses in neurons. Rods communicate the object’s shape by reading black and white and shades of gray. Cones communicate the color of the object. Working together, the rods and cones process the light to create an image by triggering nerve impulses that pass to the image centers in the brain via the optic nerve.