Physiology and Hygiene for Secondary SchoolsWalters, Francis M. (Francis Marion)
Science
Physiology and Hygiene for Secondary Schools
Walters, Francis M. (Francis Marion)
Physiology
*Binocular Vision.*—In addition to directing the eyeballs so that light
may enter them to the best advantage from different objects, the muscles
also enable two eyes to be used as one. Whenever the eyes are directed
toward the same object, an image of this object is formed on the retina of
each. Double vision is prevented only by having the images fall on
corresponding places in the two eyes. This is accomplished by the muscles.
In each act of seeing, it becomes the task of the superior and inferior
recti muscles to keep the eyes in the same plane, and of the external and
internal recti muscles to give just the right amount of convergence. If
slight pressure is exerted against one of the eyes, the action of the
muscles is interfered with and, as a consequence, one sees double. The
advantages of two eyes over one in seeing lie in the greater distinctness
and broader range of vision and in the greater correctness of judgments of
distance.
*Visual Sensations.*—The visual sensations include those of _color_ and
those of a _general sensibility to light_. Proof of the existence of these
types of sensation is found in color blindness, a defect which renders the
individual unable to distinguish certain colors when he is still able to
see objects. Color sensations are the results of light waves of different
lengths acting on the retina. While the method by which waves of one
length produce one kind of sensation and those of another length a
different sensation is not understood, the cones appear to be the portions
of the retina acted on to produce the color. On the other hand, the rods
are sensitive to all wave lengths and give general sensibility to light.
*Visual Perceptions.*—"Seeing" is very largely the mental interpretation
of the primary sensations and the conditions under which they occur. For
example, our ability to see objects in their natural positions when their
images are inverted on the retina is explained by the fact that we are not
conscious of the retinal image, but of the mind’s interpretation of it
through experience. Experience has also taught us to locate objects in the
direction toward which it is necessary to turn the eyes in order to see
them. In other words, we see objects in the direction from which the light
enters the eyes. That the object is not always in that direction is shown
by the image in the mirror. The apparent size and form of objects are
inferences, and they are based in part upon the size and form of the area
of the retina stimulated. We judge of distance by the effort required to
converge the eyes upon the objects, by the amount of divergence of the
waves entering the pupil, and also by the apparent size of the object.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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