Intro | Cornea | Optic Disk and Blind Spot | Fovea | Iris | Lens | Muscles (to move eye) | Muscles (to adjust lens) | Optic Nerve | Pupil | Retina
Part 1: Image-Mapped Tutorial
Part 2: Matching Self-Test
Part 3: Multiple-Choice Self-Test
The Fovea is a spot in the center of the retina that provides the greatest acuity or clarity of visual processing. When we fixate on an object, we are centering the light radiating from that object on the receptor cone cells of the fovea.
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Fovea means pit, and is named for its appearance relative other regions of the retina. The relative absence of blood vessels and axons in this region both contribute to appearance of a pit in the retina and the reduction of light scatter. The increased density of receptor cells in the fovea and reduced interference of entering light by other structures both contribute to the enhanced acuity of information processed in the fovea.