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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2014 Jun 4;15(7):431–442. doi: 10.1038/nrn3723

Figure 1. Retinal anatomy.

Figure 1

Illustration of the major retinal cell types and their organization in the retina. The retina is divided into 3 laminar layers; the outer nuclear layer (ONL), inner nuclear layer (INL) and ganglion cell layer (GCL). Six different neuronal cell types and one glia cell type are distributed among these layers with rod and cone photorecptors in the ONL; bipolar, horizontal and amacrine interneurons, along with the Müller glia cell bodies, in the INL; and ganglion cells in the GCL. Ganglion cell axons run just beneath the GCL and comprise a nerve fiber layer (NFL). Synapses between photoreceptors and interneurons take place in the outer plexiform layer (OPL) and synapses between interneurons and ganglion cells take place in the inner plexiform layer (IPL). MG processes span all retinal layers and contribute to the formation of the inner limiting membrane (ILM) and outer limiting membrane (OLM). The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) consists of pigmented cells that absorb light and make contact with photoreceptors.