Rod+Cells+-+ER

=**Introduction**= =**What is the function of the rod cells?**=
 * You're walking down a dark road at night and you hear a roar in front of you. You see the bright lights of a speeding car coming down the street and you quickly jump out of the way to safety. This would have not been possible if you didn’t have your rod cells. There are about 120 million rod cells in your eyes and they help you to see low light colors and give you night vision. Rod cells very important because without them you wouldn't be able to see at night which could dangerous since a lot of things go on at night. If you didn’t have them it would be hard to see things in low light. When you are born, you have all 120 million rod cells, so from childhood all throughout your life you have a protective like barrier at night and in low light situations. **
 * What is the real function of the rod cells in your eyes? Rod cells are responsible for low light level and night vision. There are about 120 million rod cells in an human eye, we are born with all 120 million rod cells, rod cells are extremely sensitive to low light and do not work with high levels of light. They function in less intense light than cone cells, the rod cells are responsible for night vision. So our rod cells are kind of like a nocturnal animals.They come out at night and give us night vision and help us see in low light areas. They don’t really let you see colors they are more for the vision part but the cones and rods sometimes work together to help you see better at night. Here is a video explaining rod cells. This video can help us understand what rod cells do and how important they are to our vision. **


 * [|Human Eye: 03: Rod Cell] **

=**What happens if you are born without them?**=
 * What happens if you don’t have rod cells? If you don’t have rod cells your vision is very limited. You have a condition called color blindness. Color blindness is a condition often inherited from family. Color blindness involves the inability to distinguish between red and green. Some of the side effects of color blindness are the inability to distinguish colors and in some rare cases rapid eye movement. As of right now there is no known cure for this condition but there are a few treatments. One of them is using special glass lenses to enhance the brightness between some colors, and sometimes used in the workplace. Many color blind people find this more confusing than helping. This is a picture of a normal person with all their rods and cones, and the other half is a person who is color blind. **

=**Can you damage or break your rod cells?**= = = =**Conclusion**= =**Vocabulary**=
 * Can you damage or break your rod cells? There is a retina disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa. This disease affects the light seeing cells of the Retinas. This disease causes the breakdown of the photo receptors cells in the retina (the cells that detect light.) All these photo receptors break down and die. As this kills more and more photo receptors patients start to progressively lose their vision. The most gradual breakdown is the rod cells than cone cells. Some of the symptoms of Retinitis Pigmentosa are loss of peripheral vision, as well as normal central vision. Others report the sensation of tunnel vision. Tunnel vision is like looking through a straw. Other forms of this disease are called cone-rod dystrophy, first affecting the central vision and color reception. Most symptoms of this disease are found in children. Some of children affected by this disease are being born with it already programmed into their cells. This is not contagious and is not as a result of an injury. Doctors can see this disease already as early as age ten. Research suggests that several different types of gene mutations can send faulty messages to the retina cells, which leads to their progressive degeneration. There is no known cure for this disease, but there are some treatment options such as avoidance and/or the use of low-vision aids to slow down the progression. Some doctors consider vitamin A as a possible treatment to slow down the progression. **
 * Rod cells are responsible for night vision and low light vision. The structure of the rod cells is simple; the rod cells are on top and the cones are on the bottom. Like an upside down caramel apple on a stick. Your rod cells are affected by disease, but there are solutions. One thing to be grateful for is the ability to look up at nighttime and see the stars in the sky. **
 * Rod cells: Cells in the retina of the eye that can function in less intense light that other types of photo receptors**
 * Cone cells: One of the photo receptors in the retina of the eye responsible for daylight and color vision**
 * Retinitis Pigmentosa: A disease in the eye**

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