Skip to main content

Anatomy of Eyes

  • Reference work entry
Encyclopedia of Biometrics

Definition

The human eye is one of the most remarkable sensory systems. Leonardo da Vinci was acutely aware of its prime significance: “The eye, which is termed the window of the soul, is the chief organ whereby the senso comune can have the most complete and magnificent view of the infinite works of nature” [1]. Human beings gather most of the information about the external environment through their eyes and thus rely on sight more than on any other sense, with the eye being the most sensitive organ we have. Besides its consideration as a window to the soul, the eye can indeed serve as a window to the identity of an individual. It offers unique features for the application of identification technology. Both the highly detailed texture of the iris and the fundus blood vessel pattern are unique to every person, providing suitable traits for biometric recognition.

Anatomy of the Human Eye

The adult eyeball, often referred to as a spherical globe, is only approximately spherical in shape,...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 449.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Pevsner, J.: Leonardo da Vinci’s contributions to neuroscience. Trends Neurosci. 25, 217–220 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Davson, H.: The Eye, vol. 1a, 3rd edn. pp. 1–64. Academic Press, Orlando (1984)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Born, A.J., Tripathi, R.C., Tripathi, B.J.: Wolff’s Anatomy of the Eye and Orbit, 8th edn. pp. 211–232, 308−334, 454−596. Chapman & Hall Medical, London (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Ian Hickson’s Description of the Eye. http://academia.hixie.ch/bath/eye/home.html. Accessed (1998)

  5. Warwick, R., Williams, P.L. (eds.): Gray’s Anatomy, 35th British edn. pp. 1100–1122. W.B Saunders, Philadelphia (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Oyster, C.W.: The Human Eye: Structure and Function, pp. 411–445, 708−732. Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Flom, L., Safir, A.: Iris recognition system, US Patent No. 4,641,349 Feb (1987)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Daugman, J.: Biometric personal identification system based on iris analysis, US Patent No. 5,291,560 Mar (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Daugman, J.: Iris Recognition. Am. Sci. 89, 326–333 (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Daugman, J.: Recognizing persons by their iris patterns. In: Biometrics: Personal Identification in Networked Society. Online textbook, http://www.cse.msu.edu/∼cse891/Sect601/textbook/5.pdf. Accessed August (1998)

  11. Snell, R.S., Lemp, M.A.: Clinical Anatomy of the Eye, pp. 169–175. Blackwell, Inc., Boston (1989)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Hill, R.B.: Fovea-centered eye fundus scanner, US Patent No. 4,620,318 Oct (1986)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Simon, C., Goldstein, I.: A new scientific method of identification. NY State J Med 35, 901–906 (1935)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Hill, R.B.: Apparatus and method for identifying individuals through their retinal vasculature patterns, US Patent No. 4,109,237 Aug (1978)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Marshall, J., Usher, D.: Method for generating a unique and consistent signal pattern for identification of an individual, US Patent No. 6,757,409 Jun (2004)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this entry

Cite this entry

Irsch, K., Guyton, D.L. (2009). Anatomy of Eyes. In: Li, S.Z., Jain, A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Biometrics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-73003-5_253

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics