Light converges on the retina at the back of the eye.

Light shines through the vitreous humor and finally reaches the retina. The retina lines the inside of the back of the eye and records images in patterns of light and color. This layer of pink, mesh-like tissue is about the thickness of an onion skin and the size of a postage stamp.

The retina is covered with rods and cones, light-receptors that send electrical impulses through optic nerve fibers and to the brain.

The retina is made up of tiny, light-sensing structures called rods and cones. Chemical reactions in these ultra-sensitive cells transform light into electrical impulses. The impulses are sent to the brain to produce sight.

Visual acuity is strongest on the retina's central spot, the macula.

The center of the retina, the area that lies directly behind the pupil, is called the macula. Visual acuity is strongest in the center of the macula, on a yellow-colored spot called the fovea. Light must be focused precisely on this area in both eyes to produce clear images. The major portion of the retina, the area surrounding the macula, provides peripheral, or side vision. Thus, central vision is sharpest and side vision provides less detail.