Editing Visual system (section)

{{Short description|Body parts responsible for vision}}
{{About|the physiological components involved in vision|the ability to interpret the surrounding environment|Visual perception }}
{{Redirect|Visual sensor|electronic visual sensors|Visual sensor network}}
{{Redirect|Visual|the album|Tabú Tek#Discography{{!}}''Visual'' (album)}}

{{Infobox anatomy
| Name        = Visual system
| Latin       = 
| Image       = Human visual pathway.svg
| Caption     = The visual system includes the eyes, the connecting pathways through to the visual cortex and other parts of the brain (human system shown).| Image2 = Human eye with limbal ring, anterior view.jpg
| Caption2    = The [[eye]] is the sensory organ of the visual system. The [[iris (anatomy)|iris]], [[pupil]], and [[sclera]] are visible
}}

The '''visual system''' is the physiological basis of [[visual perception]] (the ability to [[perception|detect and process]] [[light]]). The system detects, [[phototransduction|transduces]] and interprets information concerning [[light]] within the [[visible range]] to construct an [[imaging|image]] and build a [[mental model]] of the surrounding environment. The visual system is associated with the [[eye]] and functionally divided into the [[optics|optical]] system (including [[cornea]] and [[crystalline lens|lens]]) and the [[nervous system|neural]] system (including the [[retina]] and [[visual cortex]]).

The visual system performs a number of complex tasks based on the ''image forming'' functionality of the eye, including the formation of monocular images, the neural mechanisms underlying [[stereopsis]] and assessment of distances to ([[depth perception]]) and between objects, [[motion perception]], [[pattern recognition]], accurate [[motor coordination]] under visual guidance, and [[colour vision]]. Together, these facilitate higher order tasks, such as [[Object recognition (cognitive science)|object identification]]. The [[neuropsychological]] side of visual information processing is known as [[visual perception]], an abnormality of which is called [[visual impairment]], and a complete absence of which is called [[blindness]].  The visual system also has several non-image forming visual functions, independent of visual perception, including the [[pupillary light reflex]] and circadian [[Entrainment (chronobiology)|photoentrainment]].

This article describes the human visual system, which is representative of [[mammalian vision]], and to a lesser extent the [[vertebrate]] visual system.