Summary
The iris of the grass frog Rana pipiens, can respond to light even when isolated from the remainder of the animal. The iris is a three-layered structure, comprising a stromal layer and two layers of pigment epithelium. The sphincter pupillae, which is composed of pigmented smooth muscle cells, is embedded between the two layers of pigment epithelium. There is no dilator pupillae in this species. We have been unable to find any cells or any organelles in the iris which are anatomically specialized for photoreception in any obvious way.
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Supported by grants EY00443 and EY01155 from the National Institutes of Health.
The authors would like to thank Dr. Stuart Smith and Dr. Theodore Tarby for their helpful comments on the manuscript.
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Nolte, J., Pointner, F. The fine structure of the iris of the grass frog, Rana pipiens . Cell Tissue Res. 158, 111–120 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00219954
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00219954