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. 2015 Jun 17;2:30. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2015.00030

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Copyright © 2015 Ziegler and Möglich.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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Spectral sensitivity of photoreceptors. The spectral sensitivity of sensory photoreceptors ranges from the UV to the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Visible light is strongly absorbed or scattered by opaque biological tissue owing to the presence of lipids, heme-containing proteins, e.g., hemoglobin (Hb), and other pigments. Above 700 nm within the so-called near-infrared window, scattering and absorption by pigments are lower, and light penetrates biological tissue more deeply.