eye

eye, organ of vision and light perception. In humans the eye is of the camera type, with an iris diaphragm and variable focusing, or accommodation. Other types of eye are the simple eye, found in many invertebrates, and the compound eye, found in insects and many other arthropods. In an alternate pathway to the one that transmits visual images, the eye perceives sunlight. This information stimulates the hypothalamus, which passes the information on to the pineal gland. The pineal gland then regulates its production of the sleep-inducing chemical, melatonin, essentially setting the body's circadian clock (see biorhythm).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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