How Donation Works • Fact or Fiction • Anatomy of the Eye • FAQs

Illustration provided by The National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health.

Vitreous gel: A clear gel that fills the eye.

Optic nerve: A bundle of more than one million nerve fibers that carry visual messages from the retina to the brain.

Macula: The small, sensitive area of the retina that gives central vision. It is located in the center of the retina and contains the fovea.

Fovea: The center of the macula; it gives the clearest vision.

Retina: The light-sensitive tissue lining at the back of the eye. The retina converts
light into electrical impulses that are sent to the brain through the optic nerve.

Iris: The colored part of the eye that regulates the amount of light entering the eye.

Lens: A clear part of the eye behind the iris that helps focus light or
an image on the retina.

Pupil: The opening at the center of the iris. The iris adjusts the size of the pupil and controls the amount of light that can enter the eye.

Cornea: The clear outer part of the eye’s focusing system, located at the
front of the eye.

(Definitions from the National Eye Institute)