CorneaThe clear front window of the eye, joined to the white sclera all round its edge. It has no blood vessels. It does about two thirds of the eye's focusing, and the lens does the rest.
PupilThe hole at the center of the iris that lets light into the eye. It narrows in bright light and widens in the dark. It looks black because the light that goes in is absorbed inside the eye.
LensA clear, elastic disc held just behind the iris. With the cornea it focuses light onto the retina. It springs into a rounder shape for near objects and is pulled flatter for distant ones.
RetinaThe innermost layer of the wall and the only one made of nervous tissue. Its rods and cones change light into nerve signals.
Optic nerveThe second cranial nerve, a cable made of the axons of the retinal ganglion cells. It begins at the optic disc and carries visual signals from the retina to the brain.
IrisThe colored part of the eye, a thin ring around the pupil. It holds two smooth muscles: a circular one that narrows the pupil in bright light and one that widens it in the dark.
Sclera (white of the eye)The white of the eye: a tough coat of collagen that keeps the eyeball in shape and gives the eye muscles their attachment. It makes up the back five sixths of the outer coat, and the clear cornea is the front sixth.
Upper eyelidA thin fold of skin that closes over the eye to cover and protect it. The lashes along its edge keep dust and debris off the surface. A muscle of its own, the levator palpebrae superioris, lifts it.
Psychology class: 12 parts 6
FoveaA small pit near the middle of the macula, the central area of the retina. Cones are packed most tightly here and no blood vessels cross it, so this is where sight is sharpest.
Optic disc (blind spot)The exit for the axons of the retinal ganglion cells, which form the optic nerve from here on. No rods or cones sit on it, so each eye has a small blind spot at this place.
RodA photoreceptor whose outer segment is a cylinder that holds the pigment rhodopsin. Rods work in dim light and do not sense color, which is why vision in low light is close to grayscale.
ConeA photoreceptor with a tapered outer segment. Cones work in brighter light and give color vision. There are three kinds, most sensitive to roughly red, green and blue light, and they are densest in the fovea.
Bipolar cellThe middle cell of the chain. It sits between the photoreceptors and the ganglion cells and passes the signal from one to the other. Light has to cross this layer before it reaches the rods and cones.
Retinal ganglion cellThe last cell of the chain and the one that fires the nerve signal. Its axon runs over the inner surface of the retina to the optic disc, and these axons together form the optic nerve.
Front of the eye 3
Aqueous humorA watery fluid that fills the space between the cornea and the lens. The ciliary body secretes it. It keeps the front of the eye inflated and feeds the cornea and the lens, which have no blood vessels.
Ciliary bodyA muscular ring behind the iris, joined to the lens by the suspensory ligaments. Its muscle changes the shape of the lens to focus, and it secretes the aqueous humor.
Suspensory ligaments (zonule fibers)Fine fibers that tie the lens to the ciliary body. When the ciliary muscle contracts they slacken and the lens rounds up for near focus. When it relaxes they pull the lens flatter for distant focus.
Wall and back of the eye 2
Vitreous humorA clear gel, thicker than the fluid at the front of the eye, that fills the large space between the lens and the retina. It fills about four fifths of the eyeball's volume and helps it keep its round shape.
ChoroidThe middle layer of the wall, between the sclera and the retina. It is packed with blood vessels and feeds oxygen and nutrients to the retina's outer layers.
Around the eyeball 3
ConjunctivaA thin, clear mucous membrane. It lines the inner face of each eyelid, folds back on itself, and covers the white of the eye.
Superior rectus muscleOne of the four straight (rectus) muscles among the six that move the eyeball. It lies on top of the eye, and its main action is to turn the gaze upward. The oculomotor nerve, cranial nerve III, drives it.
Inferior rectus muscleThe straight muscle on the underside of the eyeball, opposite the superior rectus. Its main action is to turn the gaze downward. The oculomotor nerve drives this one too.
Focus: normal, near and far sight 3
Normal focusThe cornea and the lens bend the light so that it meets in a point exactly on the retina, and the image is sharp.
Myopia (nearsighted eye)Light from distant objects meets in front of the retina, most often because the eyeball has grown too long. Distant objects look blurry and close ones look normal. Concave lenses correct it.
Hyperopia (farsighted eye)The light would meet behind the retina, which can happen when the eyeball is too short or the cornea or lens is too flat. Near objects look blurry. Convex lenses correct it.
How this list was compiled: Part names and every detail line were checked against these Wikipedia articles, all read on 2026-09-20, for the facts only; the wording is our own. Human eye, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_eye (the three coats of the wall; six muscles move the eye and a seventh lifts the upper eyelid). Cornea, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornea (no blood vessels, about two thirds of the focusing power). Sclera, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sclera (the back five sixths of the outer coat, the attachment of the eye muscles). Choroid, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choroid. Ciliary body, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciliary_body. Iris, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_(anatomy). Pupil, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pupil (the two muscles that set its size, why it looks black). Lens, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lens_(vertebrate_anatomy), and Accommodation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accommodation_(vertebrate_eye) (how the lens rounds up for near focus and is pulled flatter for distance). Aqueous humour, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqueous_humour. Vitreous body, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitreous_body (four fifths of the eyeball's volume). Retina, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retina. Fovea centralis, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fovea_centralis. Macula, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macula (about 5.5 mm across, the fovea near its center). Optic disc, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optic_disc (no rods or cones; 3 to 4 mm nasal to the fovea). Optic nerve, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optic_nerve. Conjunctiva, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjunctiva. Eyelid, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyelid. Superior rectus muscle, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superior_rectus_muscle. Inferior rectus muscle, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferior_rectus_muscle. Oculomotor nerve, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oculomotor_nerve. Rod cell, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_cell. Cone cell, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cone_cell. Retina bipolar cell, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retina_bipolar_cell. Retinal ganglion cell, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retinal_ganglion_cell. Near-sightedness, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-sightedness. Far-sightedness, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Far-sightedness. A first draft of 2026-09-19 was compared with a college anatomy textbook. On 2026-09-20 every line was read again against the articles named here, and the lines that followed that book's wording were rewritten. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site, 2026-09-20. Own original line drawing; nothing was traced or copied. Looked at for accuracy only: the Wikipedia articles Human eye, Ciliary body, Lens (vertebrate anatomy), Zonule of Zinn, Eyelid, Tarsus (eyelids) and Conjunctiva (text only), and two public-domain plates from the 1918 edition of Gray's Anatomy on Wikimedia Commons, plate 869 (horizontal section of the eyeball) for proportion and plate 882 (plan of the retinal cells) for the order of the cell layers. Licence: own work
How it works
Label the eye on a drawing in side view: 18 structures of the eyeball, 4 cells of the retina in a close-up, and 3 small eyes that compare normal, near and far sight. Younger classes can begin with 8.
Read the full guide
Label the parts of the eye
Rings 1 to 6 follow the path of light: cornea, aqueous humor, pupil, lens, vitreous humor, retina. For a simple eye diagram for kids, pick Simple: 8 main parts under Start from. In Name it you may type the answer; blind spot counts for optic disc. After each answer, a line says what that piece of the eye's anatomy does.
Rods and cones in the retina close-up
The close-up shows three columns of cells. Light crosses the retinal ganglion cells and the bipolar cells before it reaches the rods and cones. A rod has a long, even tip and works in dim light. A cone has a short, tapered tip and gives color vision.
From the outside in, the back wall has three layers: sclera, choroid, retina.
The fovea is the dip behind the pupil. The optic disc is drawn just below it; in a real eye it lies toward the nose.
Aqueous humor is watery and in front of the lens. Vitreous humor is a gel behind it. A comes before V, as front before back.
Questions and answers
Is there a blank eye diagram to label?
Print blank gives the eye diagram without labels: rings numbered 1 to 25 and a line for each name, for a fill in the blank worksheet or a test. Print labelled adds the names as the answer key. Both are line art to color in.
How do I correctly label the following anatomical features of the eye?
That homework sentence comes with a list of structures. See each one named on the drawing in Study, then switch to Find it and tap each ring as it is asked. After a miss the right ring is shown.
Which parts does a psych class eye diagram need?
Pick Psychology class: 12 parts under Start from. It runs from cornea to optic nerve with the fovea and the blind spot, then the retina's rods, cones, bipolar and ganglion cells. For AP Psychology or the MCAT, begin there, then follow your course outline.
What does the nearsighted eye diagram show?
Three small eyes take in parallel rays from a distant object. In the normal eye the rays meet on the retina. In myopia, the nearsighted eye, the eyeball is too long and they meet in front of it. In hyperopia it is too short.