724 TEXT-BOOK OF PHYSIOLOGY 



axis, around which the movements of elevation (up to 34 degrees) and de- 

 pression (down to 57 degrees) take place. Alright angles to both of these 

 lines there is the vertical axis, around which the movements of adduction 

 (toward the nose up to 45 degrees) and abduction (toward the temple up 

 to 42 degrees) occur. The six muscles may be divided into three pairs, each 

 of wliich has a common axis around which it tends to move the eyeball. 

 But only the common axis of the internal and external recti coincides with 

 one of three axes before mentioned namely, with the vertical axis thus 

 moving the ball only inwardly or outwardly respectively. The other two 

 pairs, however, have their own axes of action, and their movements of the 

 ball must be, therefore, analyzed with regard to all the three axes, each 

 of these four muscles producing rotation, elevation, and depression, and 

 abduction or adduction. The superior and inferior recti muscles, form- 

 ing one pair, move the eye around a horizontal axis which intersects the 

 median plane of the body in front of the eyes at an angle of 63 degrees; 

 the external and internal recti muscles forming a second pair, move the 

 eyeball around a vertical axis; the superior and inferior oblique muscles 

 forming the third pair rotate the globe around a horizontal axis which 

 cuts the median plane of the body behind the eyes at an angle of 39 

 degrees. Thus it is that each muscle moves the eye as follows, the move- 

 ment for practical purposes being referred to the cornea: The rectus 

 externus draws the cornea simply to the temporal side, the rectus in- 

 ternus simply to the nose; the superior rectus displaces the cornea up- 

 ward, slightly inward, and turns the upper part toward the nose (medial 

 torsion); the inferior rectus moves the cornea downward, slightly in- 

 ward, and twists the upper part away from the nose (lateral torsion); 

 the superior oblique displaces the cornea downward, slightly outward, and 

 produces medial torsion; while the inferior oblique moves the cornea upward, 

 slightly outward, and produces lateral torsion. These facts show that for 

 certain movements of the eye at least three muscles are necessary (see 

 following table): 



If both eyes have their line of vision in the horizontal plane parallel 

 with each other and with the median plane of the body, they are said to be 

 in the primary position. All other positions are called secondary and tertiary. 

 Both eyes always move simultaneously, which is called the associated move- 

 ment oj the eyes. There are three forms of associated movements: (i) move- 

 ment of both eyes in the same direction; (2) movements of convergence by 

 which the visual lines are converged on a point in the middle line of the body; 

 (3) movements of divergence, by which the eyes are brought back from 

 convergence to parallelism, or even to divergence, as in certain stereoscopic 

 exercises. A combination of (i) and (2) or of (i) and (3) takes place for 

 certain positions of the object looked at. 



Color-perception. A beam of sunlight passed through a glass prism 

 is decomposed into a series of colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and 



