What is the function of the Outer Nuclear Layer?

What is the function of the Outer Nuclear Layer?

• A. Contains inner segments
• B. Contains photoreceptor outer segments
• C. Contains ganglion cell bodies
• D. Contains rod and cone cell bodies

Answer: (D)

The outer nuclear layer’s role is to house the cell bodies (nuclei) of the photoreceptors, the rods and cones. These cells are what detect light and start vision. Their outer segments, which actually contain the light-absorbing photopigments, sit in a different region, while the inner segments provide the metabolic machinery. The photoreceptor cell bodies stay in this layer and send their axons toward the inner retina to connect with bipolar and horizontal cells in the outer plexiform layer. Ganglion cell bodies, on the other hand, are located in the ganglion cell layer, not the outer nuclear layer. So the outer nuclear layer is defined by containing the rod and cone cell bodies.

The outer nuclear layer’s role is to house the cell bodies (nuclei) of the photoreceptors, the rods and cones. These cells are what detect light and start vision. Their outer segments, which actually contain the light-absorbing photopigments, sit in a different region, while the inner segments provide the metabolic machinery. The photoreceptor cell bodies stay in this layer and send their axons toward the inner retina to connect with bipolar and horizontal cells in the outer plexiform layer. Ganglion cell bodies, on the other hand, are located in the ganglion cell layer, not the outer nuclear layer. So the outer nuclear layer is defined by containing the rod and cone cell bodies.