Blind spot (vision)

Blind spot (vision)
For other uses, see Blind spot (disambiguation).
In the vertebrate example, 4 represents the blind spot, which is notably absent from the octopus eye. In vertebrates, 1 represents the retina and 2 is the nerve fibers, including the optic nerve (3), whereas in the octopus eye, 1 and 2 represent the nerve fibers and retina respectively.

A blind spot, also known as a scotoma, is an obscuration of the visual field. A particular blind spot known as the blindspot, or physiological blind spot, or punctum caecum in medical literature, is the place in the visual field that corresponds to the lack of light-detecting photoreceptor cells on the optic disc of the retina where the optic nerve passes through it.[1] Since there are no cells to detect light on the optic disc, a part of the field of vision is not perceived. The brain fills in with surrounding detail and with information from the other eye, so the blind spot is not normally perceived.

Although all vertebrates have this blind spot, cephalopod eyes, which are only superficially similar, do not. In them, the optic nerve approaches the receptors from behind, so it does not create a break in the retina.

The first documented observation of the phenomenon was in the 1660s by Edme Mariotte in France. At the time it was generally thought that the point at which the optic nerve entered the eye should actually be the most sensitive portion of the retina; however, Mariotte's discovery disproved this theory.

The blind spot is located about 12–15° temporal and 1.5° below the horizontal and is roughly 7.5° high and 5.5° wide.[2]

Contents

Blind spot test

Demonstration of the blind spot
O X
Instructions: Your face should be a few fingers away from the screen. Close the right eye and focus the left eye on the X. Now move away from the screen slowly, and at one point the O will disappear. This will happen approx. when the screen is about 25cm away (3x the width of this diagram). As you move further away, the O will reappear. If you close your left eye and look at the O, the X will disappear over a similar range.

See also

References

  1. ^ Gregory, R., & Cavanagh, P. (2011). "The Blind Spot". Scholarpedia. Retrieved on 2011-05-21.
  2. ^ MIL-STD-1472F, Military Standard, Human Engineering, Design Criteria For Military Systems, Equipment, And Facilities (23 Aug 1999) PDF

External links

v · d · ePhenomena of the visual system
Entoptic phenomena
Other phenomena

M: EYE

anat(g/a/p)/phys/devp/prot

noco/cong/tumr, epon

proc, drug(S1A/1E/1F/1L)

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Look at other dictionaries:

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  • blind spot —    Also known as Mariotte s spot, physiological scotoma, physiological blind spot, and punctum caecum. All five terms are used to denote the physiological hole existing in each monocular field of vision that corresponds morphologically with the… …   Dictionary of Hallucinations

  • blind spot — 1. Anat. a small area on the retina that is insensitive to light due to the interruption, where the optic nerve joins the retina, of the normal pattern of light sensitive rods and cones. See diag. under eye. 2. an area or subject about which one… …   Universalium

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  • blind — {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun ⇨ See also ↑shade ADJECTIVE ▪ window ▪ roller, venetian VERB + BLIND ▪ open, pull up, raise …   Collocations dictionary

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