True or false: Rods and cones are distributed equally throughout the retina.

• A. True
• B. Equally distributed
• C. False
• D. They are absent in some regions

Answer: (C)

The statement is false because photoreceptors are not evenly spread across the retina. The fovea, the center of our gaze, is densely packed with cone cells for sharp, color vision, and it contains virtually no rods. As you move toward the peripheral retina, cones become less common while rods become more numerous, increasing sensitivity to light in dim conditions. There is also a region where photoreceptors are absent altogether—the optic disc (the blind spot) where the optic nerve exits the eye. Because of these varying densities and the regions with no photoreceptors, rods and cones are not distributed equally throughout the retina.