The outermost layer of the cerebral layer of retina, composed of the primary receptor cells of the retina; the stratum consists of two sublayers: 1) an external layer made up of the rods and cones, the photosensitive processes of the receptor cells, and 2) the external nuclear layer containing the cell bodies of these cells; the external limiting membrane forms a perforated supporting plate between the two sublayers; the name refers to the fact that the retinal receptor cells are a specialised form of (epithelial) ependyma cell and thus, in a sense, are comparable to the neuroepithelial cells (e.g., hair cells) of other sense organs.
Synonym: external nuclear layer of retina, stratum neuroepitheliale retinae, stratum nucleare externum retinae.
(05 Mar 2000)