There's so much to be said about the senses that captivates our minds and influences our lives. Some subtle, some not so subtle. The stench of day old fish alarms the nose, the blaring of our alarm clock assaults the ears, we're awakened by the taste of bitter coffee striking our tongue, or the chill of morning air gives us goosebumps.
Clearly, there are five senses -- all equally important. To lose one would slightly handicap our sensory system but not all is lost for the others heighten to help us navigate our world. Today we will focus on the eyes, for that is my expertise.
Eyes, in it's very basic medical definition according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is
"an organ of sight especially : a nearly spherical hollow organ that is lined with a sensitive retina, is lodged in a bony orbit in the skull, is the vertebrate organ of sight, and is normally paired." That , too, is what I've come to learn during my years studying Optometry. But eyes are so much more than that. Aside from a noun, it is also a verb. Like many parts of one's body, eyes is a versatile companion to our fleshy make-up of a being.
Let's elaborate.
Eyes as a noun can be demonstrated by this image borrowed from the Cleveland Clinic.
Light beams into the pupil, that is controlled by the iris muscle that is surrounded by the sclera. The sclera is covered by a protective film called the conjunctiva that is adjacent to the cornea which is the outer layer of the eye that controls the optics of light refraction. The lens is another optical zone that helps focus light and through that organ is the vitreous, a clear jelly material that maintains our spherical shape of an eye. Finally, the retina largely sees black and white, light and dark, and our macula is our central, detailed vision, where we see color. The optic nerve carries every visual stimuli that our retina and macula absorbs and sends it to the brain for processing, and there we form perceptions of our world. All very factual, indeed. Stimulating -- from light for us to see, yes, but not as a subject.
Eyes as a verb is more interesting because one can say they're eyeing the latest Iphone, or they got eyed suspiciously while shopping. Eyes moving is an action in itself, and when used as an action is informative to lay out a scene. And what better way to enhance a scene than use idioms? In classic rom-coms, the girl always has a twinkle in her eye when she sees the object of her affection. She begins the movie as a textbook nerd, but there's more than meets the eye. A montage of events occur that show her transformation into a sight for sore eyes, and eventually leads to a supposed happy ending. Idioms are descriptive in all the right ways.
In conclusion, eyes are versatile. There's so much that eyes can do and have happen to it, so in this blog series we will explore this vision sensing organ.
Thank you for visiting our website. The optometry office built by the combined efforts of Dr. Lee and Dr. Forehand is, much like an eye to the body, the sum of many working parts. And as multifaceted the word "eye" is to the English language, the practice strives to serve the community in any way, shape, or form, it can contribute to ones eye health. From simple glasses and contact lens prescriptions to complex management of eye conditions such as glaucoma or eye infections, we will find a fitting treatment plan for those who seek our expertise.
We want to help you maintain the gift of sight so that you can view everything around you with 20/20 clarity. There's no better place than here at Site to See.
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