rod cells
Retinal night sensors
Rod cells are photoreceptors in the retina responsible for vision in low light.
Unlike cone cells, which detect color and work best in bright conditions, rods are extremely sensitive to light but see only in shades of gray.
The human eye contains roughly 120 million rod cells, concentrated toward the periphery of the retina, which is why dim objects are easier to see when not looked at directly.
Light after sunset
- duskDimming after sundown
- dawnDay's first glow
- night visionAbility to see dimly
- moonlightReflected solar radiance, nocturnal
starlight · threshold · darkness · shadows · dark-adapted · nocturnal · crepuscular · gloom
Light-sensing tissue layer
Light-absorbing retinal molecule
- hyperpolarizationExcessive membrane voltage negativity
- isomerizationMolecular rearrangement keeping same atoms
- recoveryRegaining what was lost
- amplificationIncrease in intensity
Impaired vision in darkness
- macular degenerationRetinal disease causing central blindness
- vitamin A deficiencyInadequate retinol levels
- fundusOrgan's innermost portion
- gene therapyMedical DNA modification treatment
twilight
Light after sunset
- duskDimming after sundown
- dawnDay's first glow
- night visionAbility to see dimly
moonlight · starlight · threshold · darkness · shadows · dark-adapted · nocturnal · crepuscular · gloom · peripheral vision
retina
Light-sensing tissue layer
cilium · mitochondria · nucleus · glutamate · neural pathway
photopigment
Light-absorbing retinal molecule
- hyperpolarizationExcessive membrane voltage negativity
- isomerizationMolecular rearrangement keeping same atoms
- recoveryRegaining what was lost
night blindness
Impaired vision in darkness
- macular degenerationRetinal disease causing central blindness
- vitamin A deficiencyInadequate retinol levels
- fundusOrgan's innermost portion
- visionsharp, eye, visual perception, sight, eyes
- cellscells, blood cells, nerve cells, brain cells, mitosis
- animal visioncat eyes, compound eyes, cornea, depth perception, eagle eye
- eye anatomyeyeball, cornea, iris, retina, pupil
- Light Biologyphotoreception, retina, light sensitivity, optic nerve, light exposure
- sensory systemschemoreception, photoreception, proprioception, olfaction, gustation