Mariotte experiment


Mar·i·otte ex·per·i·ment

(mah-rē-ot'), an experiment in which one looks fixedly with one eye (the other being closed), at a black dot on a card, on which is also marked a black cross; as the card is moved to or from the eye, at a certain distance the cross becomes invisible but appears again as the card is moved further; this proves the absence of photoreceptors where the optic nerve enters the eye.

Mar·i·otte ex·per·i·ment

(mar-ē-ot' ek-sper'i-mĕnt) An experiment in which one looks fixedly with one eye (the other being closed) at a black dot on a card, on which is also marked a black cross; as the card is moved to or from the eye, at a certain distance the cross becomes invisible but appears again as the card is moved further; this proves the absence of photoreceptors where the optic nerve enters the eye.

Mariotte,

Edmé, French physicist, 1620-1684. Mariotte blind spot - an oval area of the ocular fundus devoid of light receptors where the axons of the retinal ganglion cell converge to form the optic nerve head. Synonym(s): optic diskMariotte bottle - a stoppered bottle with bottom outlet, used as a reservoir for constant infusions.Mariotte experiment - an experiment that proves the absence of photoreceptors where the optic nerve enters the eye.Mariotte law - Synonym(s): Boyle law