A small circular area on the retina where the optic nerve fibers leave the eye and blood vessels enter.
Structure
The optic disc is roughly two millimeters across and slightly oval. It contains no photoreceptors, which is why it produces the natural blind spot in each eye’s visual field.
Function
About a million axons from retinal ganglion cells converge at the disc, pierce a sieve-like plate of sclera, and become the optic nerve heading toward the brain.
Clinical note
Swelling of the disc, called papilledema, often signals raised pressure inside the skull and is a key finding in suspected brain tumors and meningitis.
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