Accommodation (vertebrate eye)

Accommodation is the process by which the vertebrate eye changes optical power to maintain a clear image or focus on an object as its distance varies. In this, distances vary for individuals from the far point—the maximum distance from the eye for which a clear image of an object can be seen, to the near point—the minimum distance for a clear image. Accommodation usually acts like a reflex, including part of the accommodation-vergence reflex, but it can also be consciously controlled. The main ways animals may change focus are: Changing the shape of the lens. Changing the position of the lens relative to the retina. Changing the axial length of the eyeball. Changing the shape of the cornea. Focusing the light scattered by objects in a three dimensional environment into a two dimensional collection of individual bright points of light requires the light to be bent. To get a good image of these points of light on a defined area requires a precise systematic bending of light called refraction. The formed from millions of these points of light is what animals see using their retinas. Very even systematic curvature of parts of the cornea and lens produces this systematic bending of light onto the retina. Due to the nature of optics the focused image on the retina is always inverted relative to the object. Different animals live in different environments having different refractive indexes involving water, air and often both. The eyes are therefor required to bend light different amounts leading to different mechanisms of focus being used in different environments. The air/cornea interface involves a larger difference in refractive index than hydrated structures within the eye. As a result, animals living in air have most of the bending of light achieved at the air/cornea interface with the lens being involved in finer focus of the image. Generally mammals, birds and reptiles living in air vary their eyes' optical power by subtly and precisely changing the shape of the elastic lens using the ciliary body.