Sheep Eye Dissection Analysis

Recently, we had dissected a sheep eye to learn about it's anatomical structures along with it's functions. The first step of the dissection was removing the fatty tissue and muscle surrounding the sclera. The muscle and fat tissues served as cushions for the eye in order for it to stay in place and not pop out the socket constantly. We also noticed this hard stem-like structure sticking out the back of the eye, determining it to be the optic nerve. The optic nerve transfers visuals from the eye to the brain for the brain's interpretation, making the eye part of the sensation group. The second step of the procedure was to cut the eyeball in half through the sclera to view the inner contents of the eye. Upon opening the eye, we discovered the cornea on one side of the hemisphere and the vitreous humor on the other. The cornea is the transparent outer layer at the front of the eye, whose job is to focus the entry of light into the eye. The vitreous humor was a clear, gelatin-like substance that filled the eye to help maintain it's shape so that the eye would not be deflated. Upon closer inspection, we found the retina on the opposite hemisphere of the vitreous humor. The retina is greatly important to the eye since it sorts all neural images our eyes absorb so that they can be interpreted easily by the brain. after removing the vitreous humor from the eye, we discovered the lens. The purpose of the lens is to adjust focus according to our environment so that we can see clearly. Without the lens, our vision would be blurry and we would technically be blind. This lab helped opened my eyes (pun intended) on how little we take our eye for granted, when it provides us with the greatest natural gift of them all: vision.