The ganglion cell layer (ganglionic layer) is a layer of the
retina
The retina (from la, rete "net") is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focused two-dimensional image of the visual world on the retina, which then ...
that consists of
retinal ganglion cell
A retinal ganglion cell (RGC) is a type of neuron located near the inner surface (the ganglion cell layer) of the retina of the eye. It receives visual information from photoreceptors via two intermediate neuron types: bipolar cells and reti ...
s and displaced
amacrine cell
Amacrine cells are interneurons in the retina. They are named from the Greek roots ''a–'' ("non"), ''makr–'' ("long") and ''in–'' ("fiber"), because of their short neuronal processes. Amacrine cells are inhibitory neurons, and they projec ...
s.
The cells are somewhat
flask-shaped; the rounded internal surface of each resting on the
stratum opticum, and sending off an
axon
An axon (from Greek ἄξων ''áxōn'', axis), or nerve fiber (or nerve fibre: see spelling differences), is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, in vertebrates, that typically conducts electrical impulses known as action ...
which is prolonged into it.
From the opposite end numerous dendrites extend into the
inner plexiform layer, where they branch and form flattened arborizations at different levels.
The ganglion cells vary much in size, and the
dendrites
Dendrites (from Greek δένδρον ''déndron'', "tree"), also dendrons, are branched protoplasmic extensions of a nerve cell that propagate the electrochemical stimulation received from other neural cells to the cell body, or soma, of the ...
of the smaller ones as a rule arborize in the inner plexiform layer as soon as they enter it; while those of the larger cells ramify close to the
inner nuclear layer.
References
External links
*
Human eye anatomy
{{eye-stub