[Brijjy]

......that a work colleague and I have been mulling over. If your eyeballs came out of their sockets but were still attached to the optic nerve would you still be able to see? 

[Dogwalker]

Probably I expect.
 
Were you having a very quiet day at work?

[happygolucky]

   Yes....just popped mine out to check

[goosepimple]

you'd be able to contemplate your navel in great detail




Busy today are we? 

[MikeM]

I'd imagine being able to see would be the least of your problems...
 
 

[NormandyMary]

Ive just had my tea, and now I want to vomit!!

[NYorksBoy]

I remember from my anatomy classes there is some slack in the optic nerve, however, I doubt the blood supply could cope with said anatomical mishap.
We also have various muscles which keep the eye in.

I have experienced many patients with over active thyroid which causes a swelling of the fat and muscles begging the eye - giving that bulging eye appearance.

But you never know....

[happygolucky]

They pop eyes out for medical things don't they?

[MikeM]

They pop eyes out for medical things don't they?

that's what they tell us, I reckon they just do it for a laugh. Sinister lot, the medical profession.

[happygolucky]

We need a Dr, I know there are some on here or at least some that know such things.....

[hughesy]

My father in law once told me he'd had an operation on his eye in which this happened and that he could indeed see. He did like to tell the odd tall story though.

[Lesley Silvester]

My OH has artificial eyes so knows something about it. To remove his eye, the surgeon cut into a layer of membrane that goes over the eye to hold it in place.

If you want to know what happens next, read on. If you're squeamish you may prefer not to. The optic nerves were cut then threaded through a little disc to keep them all together. This is situated at the back of his eye socket (I've felt it there). The membrane was then sewn over the disc to hold that in place. He later had the artificial eyes made. Warm wax is poured into the eye socket and allowed to set. From this a mould can be made so the eye can be moulded to the shape of his eye socket. Eyes are not round as is generally thought. Once the prosthetic eye is made the colour part is painted on together with the tiny red veins. They do have to be replace every so often. He had his last ones in 1998 and I got to choose the colour, although I was only allowed to choose from various blues as that is his natural colour.

End of lesson.

[doganjo]

That's fascinating, MGoM.  I'm seeing my son-in-law today (runs local OOH and is also a GP), so will ask him about this.  Do your husband's eye function as normal to look at?  Like swivelling, moving around etc - can he see or is he totally blind?

[little blue]

......that a work colleague and I have been mulling over. If your eyeballs came out of their sockets but were still attached to the optic nerve would you still be able to see? 

yes.
but if they are not in the socket properly, with all the ciliary muscles & ligaments attached, then the eye wouldn't b able to control either the focus or the amount of light entering the eye.
so your brain would still receive the information through the optic nerve about whatever the eye was "looking" at (whilst it dangled about your navel!!) but it wouldn't be a very good picture! 

not a doctor, but very recently taught "eyes & vision" at school, including dissection of sheeps eyes... fascinating stuff.
And the above question comes up quite alot!