Cone cell

Cone cells are one of two types of photoreceptor cells (neurons) in the retina of the human eye. Cones are responsible for colour vision and function best in relatively bright light. The other type, rod cells, work better in dim light

  • The principal task of rod and cone cells alike is photo-transduction.
  • Photo-transduction enables pigmented chemicals to sense light and convert it into electrical signals.
  • Cone cells are most concentrated towards the macula and densely packed in the fovea centralis, but reduce in number towards the periphery of the retina.
  • There are believed to be about 120 million rod cells and 6 million cone cells in the human retina.
  • Cone cells in human eye take three forms, long-wavelength cones (L = red), medium-wavelength cones (M = green) and short-wavelength cones (S = blue) .
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References

Cone cells, or cones, are one of three types of photoreceptor cells (neurons) in the retina of the human eye. They are responsible for colour vision and function best in relatively bright light, as opposed to rod cells, which work better in dim light.

  • Cone cells are cone-shaped whilst rod cells are rod-shaped.
  • Cone cells are most concentrated towards the macula and densely packed in the fovea centralis, but reduce in number towards the periphery of the retina.
  • There are believed to be around six million cone cells in the human retina.