
A poster visualising the anatomy of the eye and providing information on different eye diseases has been developed by Emeritus Professor Paul McMenamin AM, former Director of the Centre for Human Anatomy Education. It is available for purchase from mivision.
The Anatomy of the Eye with Clinical Correlates poster was first conceptualised around 20 years ago when Prof McMenamin was working as an eye researcher and anatomy teacher of medical students and specialists, including eye care.
“I became aware that the eye anatomy charts on the market were very basic. They lacked information about the anatomy of the eye as it relates to the causes of eye diseases,” he told mivision.
Additionally, as someone interested in art, he thought the existing resources could be more visually appealing. “This, after all, is the most beautiful part of the human body and it deserves to be illustrated in an attractive manner.”
COMPLEX STRUCTURES VISUALISED
As a researcher and educator for more than 45 years, Prof McMenamin has expertise in the fields of ocular immunology, eye development, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, uveitis, corneal disease, and comparative ocular anatomy, all of which has been brought to bear in this work.
“Besides focussing on anatomy as it relates to normal function and disease, I tried to capture the complex three-dimensional cell and tissue structure, which many eye care trainees initially struggle to visualise,” Prof McMenamin explained.
“This is not surprising, as dissection of a bovine or other animal eye during training might give some appreciation of the 3D organisation of the eye, and histology sections give great 2D perspectives of cellular and tissue organisation, but putting it all together into a 3D understanding can be difficult. This chart aims to help.”
A PROFESSIONAL RESOURCE
While the Anatomy of the Eye poster will be useful in the clinic for patient education, Prof McMenamin said the detailed clinicopathological content is primarily targeted at a different audience: medical students, trainee ophthalmologists, optometrists, and other eye care specialists.
“It tries to portray ocular anatomy in as visually appealing and anatomically accurate way as possible. It does not contain complex anatomical explanations per se but instead uses text boxes, adjacent to each part of the eye, to focus the learner’s attention on the clinical correlates or diseases that affect those specific regions.
“Knowing that something is of clinical relevance always makes learning the basic sciences easier,” he added.
A FRESH PERSPECTIVE
With many of the currently available eye charts created more than 40 years ago, Prof McMenamin said his poster provides “up-to-date information not seen in others”.
“The drawings incorporate many of the latest details that have been elaborated by research on ocular cell and tissue structure as they relate to normal function and disease. “
A further bonus is that things are drawn as close to scale as possible. Many older style charts seem to portray the retina, choroid and sclera in completely inappropriate thicknesses. The retina, in particular, is often portrayed much thicker than it really is.”
Additionally, he said, the poster includes details on newly discovered immune cells, such as tissue resident T cells, dendritic cells (or Langerhans cells), and macrophages that populate the cornea.
“These are likely to help us understand several corneal diseases. Similarly, the complex 3D nature of the choroidal vasculature, that is so critical to our understanding of neovascularisation in ‘wet’ AMD, is illustrated.”
COLLABORATIVE EFFORT
Prof McMenamin has published around 180 research papers, reviews and book chapters, and he co-authored the leading textbook, The Eye: Basic Sciences in Practice. 1 He has collaborated with other eye researchers and ophthalmologists both in Australia, the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom.
For the Anatomy of the Eye poster, Prof McMenamin created all the initial drawings, then commissioned professional artist, Steve Makse to create dynamic illustrations and exciting backgrounds that help “lift the drawings off the page with a 3D effect”.
The colour posters are available in A1 landscape format, printed on high quality paper and laminated. They are available for AU$49 each from mivision.
Visit: anatomyoftheeye.com.
Reference
- Forrester, J.V., Dick, A.D., McMenamin, P.G. et al., (2016) The Eye: Basic Sciences in Practice. Elsevier. DOI: doi. org/10.1016/C2012-0- 07682-X.