Do Müller Cells Act as Optical Fibers in the Primate Retina?

Purpose: To examine whether Müller cells in the primate retina act as optical light guides.

Method: In the literature, it has been suggested that Müller cells in the primate retina act as optical fibers. I have conducted a survey of the literature for papers in support of or refuting this assumption.

Results: I show that neither histology, nor the direct observation of photoreceptors, nor the entoptic observation of the retina agree with the assumption that Müller cells in the human retina act as optical waveguides.

Conclusions: I confirm the classic view that the inner/outer segments act together as optical waveguides and that they are the origin of the Stiles-Crawford effect of the first kind.