DISSECTION OF THE EYE. 95 



16. Iris and Pupil. The iris is now completely ex- 

 posed, and through its opening, the pupil, the anterior 

 surface of the lens projects somewhat. Lift up the 

 edge of the iris and notice its darkly pigmented pos- 

 terior surface. This layer of pigment on the back of 

 the iris is known as the uvea. It is continuous with 

 the pigmented epithelium of the retina which is pro- 

 longed over the ciliary processes to the iris in the 

 " pars ciliaris retinae." 



Lift up the iris with forceps, aitd cut it away at its 

 junction with the choroid round its whole circumfer- 

 ence. 



17. The Ciliary Processes and the Suspensory Liga- 

 ment. The anterior surface of the lens is now fully 

 exposed, and the free edges of the ciliary processes 

 lying on it. With the point of a seeker turn back 

 the ciliary processes, and the suspensory ligament pass- 

 ing from the lens to the processes will be exposed. 

 The ligament is too delicate to be seen easily, but if 

 the lens is pushed somewhat outward it will be re- 

 vealed. 



18. The Capsule of the Lens. The suspensory liga- 

 ment is attached directly to the capsule of the lens, 

 which is a rather tough though transparent mem- 

 brane enveloping the lens. If a bit of the anterior 

 surface of the lens is pinched up with the forceps the 

 capsule can be cut or broken through, and will peel 

 off easily so that the lens can be slipped out. The 

 capsule stays behind still attached to the ciliary pro- 

 cesses by the suspensory ligament, and if the opera- 

 tion has been successfully performed a better view of 

 the suspensory ligament will be obtained. 



