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Unmyelinated nerve fibre in the cornea
A nerve fibre in the cornea imaged with a transmission electron microscope. The fibre consists of a supporting Schwann cell (the darker part of the fibre on the left) encircling the axons of many nerve cells on the right. There are lots of these nerve fibres in the cornea, which accounts for the exquisite sensitivity of the eye whenever a foreign body such as a speck of dust or an eyelash touches its surface. The nerve fibre is passing through layers of collagen fibrils arranged in a highly regular, semi-crystalline way. This ordered structure is important for the transparency of the cornea and is therefore essential for the clarity of our vision. The nerve fibre (excluding the 'tail' of the Schwann cell) is approximately 5 microns (0.005mm) across.
Rob Young.
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