| eye | <zoology> A brood; as, an eye of pheasants. Origin: Prob. Fr. Nye, an eye being for a nye. See Nye. 1. The organ of sight or vision. In man, and the vertebrates generally, it is properly the movable ball or globe in the orbit, but the term often includes the adjacent parts. In most invertebrates the years are immovable ocelli, or compound eyes made up of numerous ocelli. See Ocellus. Description of illustration: a b Conjunctiva; c Cornea; d Sclerotic; e Choroid; f Cillary Muscle; g Cillary Process; h Iris; i Suspensory Ligament; k Prosterior Aqueous Chamber between h and i; l Anterior Aqueous Chamber; m Crystalline Lens; n Vitreous Humor; o Retina; p Yellow spot; q Center of blind spot; r Artery of Retina in center of the Optic Nerve. The essential parts of the eye are inclosed in a tough outer coat, the sclerotic, to which the muscles moving it are attached, and which in front changes into the transparent cornea. A little way back of cornea, the crystalline lens is suspended, dividing the eye into two unequal cavities, a smaller one in front filled with a watery fluid, the aqueous humor, and larger one behind filled with a clear jelly, the vitreous humor. The sclerotic is lined with a highly pigmented membrane, the choroid, and this is turn is lined in the back half of the eyeball with the nearly transparent retina, in which the fibres of the optic nerve ramify. The choroid in front is continuous with the iris, which has a contractile opening in the center, the pupil, admitting light to the lens which brings the rays to a focus and forms an image upon the retina, where the light, falling upon delicate structures called rods and cones, causes them to stimulate the fibres of the optic nerve to transmit visual impressions to the brain. 2. The faculty of seeing; power or range of vision; hence, judgment or taste in the use of the eye, and in judging of objects; as, to have the eye of sailor; an eye for the beautiful or picturesque. 3. The action of the organ of sight; sight, look; view; ocular knowledge; judgment; opinion. "In my eye, she is the sweetest lady that I looked on." (Shak) 4. The space commanded by the organ of sight; scope of vision; hence, face; front; the presence of an object which is directly opposed or confronted; immediate presence. "We shell express our duty in his eye." (Shak) "Her shell your hear disproved to her eyes." (Shak) 5. Observation; oversight; watch; inspection; notice; attention; regard. "Keep eyes upon her." "Booksellers . . . Have an eye to their own advantage." (Addison) 6. <zoology> That which resembles the organ of sight, in form, position, or appearance; as: The spots on a feather, as of peacock. The scar to which the adductor muscle is attached in oysters and other bivalve shells; also, the adductor muscle itself, especially. When used as food, as in the scallop. The bud or sprout of a plant or tuber; as the eye of a potato. The center of a target; the bull's-eye. A small loop to receive a hook; as hooks and eyes on a dress. The hole through the head of a needle. A loop forming part of anything, or a hole through anything, to receive a rope, hook, pin, shaft, etc.; as an eye at the end of a tie bar in a bridge truss; as an eye through a crank; an eye at the end of rope. The hole through the upper millstone. 7. That which resembles the eye in relative importance or beauty. "The very eye of that proverb." . "Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts." (Milton) 8. Tinge; shade of colour. "Red with an eye of blue makes a purple." (Boyle) By the eye, in abundance. Elliott eye, in a direction opposed to the wind; as, a ship sails in the eye of the wind. Origin: OE. Eghe, eighe, eie, eye, AS. Eage; akin to OFries. Age, OS. Ga, D. Oog, Ohg. Ouga, G. Auge, Icel. Auga, Sw. Oga, Dan. Oie, Goth. Aug; cf. OSlav. Oko, Lish. Akis, L. Okulus, Gr, eye, the two eyes, Skr. Akshi. 10. Cf. Diasy, Ocular, Optic, Eyelet, Ogle. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
|---|---|
| eye abnormalities | Congenital absence of or defects in structures of the eye; may also be hereditary. (12 Dec 1998) |
| eye, artificial | A ready-made or custom-made prosthesis of glass or plastic shaped and coloured to resemble the anterior portion of a normal eye and inserted for cosmetic reasons in the socket of an enucleated or eviscerated eye. (12 Dec 1998) |
| eye bank | A place where corneas of eyes removed after death are preserved for subsequent keratoplasty. (05 Mar 2000) |
| eye banks | Centres for storing various parts of the eye for future use. (12 Dec 1998) |
| eye burns | Injury to any part of the eye by extreme heat, chemical agents, or ultraviolet radiation. (12 Dec 1998) |
| eye capsule | A condensation of connective tissue on the outer aspect of the sclera from which it is separated by a narrow cleftlike episcleral space; the sheath is attached to the sclera near the sclerocorneal junction and blends with the fascia of the extraocular muscles. Synonym: vagina bulbi, capsula bulbi, eye capsule, fascia bulbi, sheath of eyeball, Tenon's capsule, vagina oculi. (05 Mar 2000) |
| eye-closure pupil reaction | A constriction of both pupils when an effort is made to close eyelids forcibly held apart. A variant of the pupil response to near vision. Synonym: Galassi's pupillary phenomenon, Gifford's reflex, lid-closure reaction, orbicularis phenomenon, orbicularis pupillary reflex, Piltz sign, Westphal's pupillary reflex, Westphal-Piltz phenomenon. (05 Mar 2000) |
| eye-closure reflex | General term for reflex closure of eyelids caused by any stimulus. Synonym: eye-closure reflex. (05 Mar 2000) |
| eye colour | Colour of the iris. (12 Dec 1998) |
| eye cup | A small oval receptacle used to apply a liquid to the external eye. (05 Mar 2000) |
| eye diseases, hereditary | Transmission of gene defects or chromosomal aberrations/abnormalities which are expressed in extreme variation in the structure or function of the eye. These may be evident at birth, but may be manifested later with progression of the disorder. (12 Dec 1998) |
| eye-ear plane | A standard craniometric reference plane passing through the right and left porion and the left orbitale; drawn on the profile radiograph or photograph from the superior margin of the acoustic meatus to the orbitale. Synonym: auriculo-infraorbital plane, eye-ear plane, Frankfort horizontal plane, Frankfort plane, infraorbitomeatal plane. (05 Mar 2000) |
| eye enucleation | The surgical removal of the eyeball leaving the eye muscles and remaining orbital contents intact. (12 Dec 1998) |
| eye evisceration | The surgical removal of the inner contents of the eye, leaving the sclera intact. It should be differentiated from orbit evisceration which removes the entire contents of the orbit, including eyeball, blood vessels, muscles, fat, nerve supply, and periosteum. (12 Dec 1998) |