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Glite Dictionary
optic cup

optic cup

8.4
A two-layer cup in a developing embryo that becomes the retina's dark and light-sensing layers
  • noun
  • /ˈɑptɪk kʌp/
  • Specialized
translation icon : copa óptica
  • During eye development, the optic cup forms as the neural ectoderm invaginates.

Examples

  • Damage to the optic cup during embryogenesis can result in vision problems.

  • Scientists studied the formation of the optic cup to understand retinal disorders.

  • The optic cup forms during the early stages of embryonic development.

  • Each optic cup contributes to the formation of the retina.

  • The embryo develops an optic cup that will eventually form the retina's layers.

  • During early development, the optic cup plays a critical role in eye formation.

  • Surrounding the optic cup, other structures begin to emerge as the embryo grows.

Synonyms

eyecup
vsoptic cup
  • Specialized
9.9

A cup in an embryo with two layers that becomes the retina, the part of the eye that senses light

is the same structure but uses a different term form

Surface Forms

optic cup singular
optic cups plural

Morphology

optic + cup

The compound 'optic cup' transparently signals a cup-shaped structure related to the eye (optic = vision-related; cup = hollow/bowl-shaped), so a learner who knows the constituents can infer a general 'eye-related cup' form. However, the precise embryological sense (a two-layered structure that develops into retinal layers) is specialized and not fully predictable from the words alone, so the meaning is only partially derivable.

Etymology

Optic cup is named for its shape: in the developing embryo the early eye tissue folds inward to make a small two-layer cup, and optic means 'seeing', so the picture of a little cup helps explain why the name refers to the part that becomes the 'retina'.