Visual system

The visual system is what allows us to see. It consists of:

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• The eye, especially the retina
• The optic nerve
• The optic chiasm
• The optic tract
• The lateral geniculate nucleus
• The optic radiations
• The visual cortex

The task of the visual system is to interpret what would otherwise be a two-dimensional image of the world as a moving, colored three-dimensional world.

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This article mostly describes the visual system of mammals, although other "higher" animals have similar visual systems.

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Light is inverted by the lens and projected onto the retina; blue-attuned cone cells will be most strongly stimulated by blue light, while yellow/red-attuned cone cells will not be.

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Visual system: Eye ►