Photoreceptor cell cell depends upon only the number of photons absorbed. The different responses of the three types of cone cells are determined by the likelihoods that their respective photoreceptor proteins will absorb photons of different wavelengths. So, for example, an L cone cell contains a photoreceptor protein that more readily absorbs long wavelengths of light (i.e., more "red"). Light of a shorter wavelength can also produce the same response, but it must be much brighter to do so. The human retina contains about 120 million rod cells, and 6 million cone cells. The number and ratio of rods to cones varies
Retina Retina The retina is the innermost, light-sensitive layer, or "coat", of shell 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 translates that image into electrical neural impulses to the brain to create visual perception, the retina serving much the same function as film or a CCD in a camera. The retina consists of several layers of neurons interconnected by synapses. The neural retina refers to the three layers of neural cells (photo receptor cells, bipolar cells, and ganglion cells) within