title: Rod outer segments are designed for optimum photon detection.
abstract: The proposal that rod outer segment length is optimal with respect to photon absorption and noise control is extended and tested in a number of species. We find good agreement with our optimality criterion in duplex retinae where rods act as detectors of one or a few photons, but not in all rod retinae nor in those which are exposed to significant photic environmental noise.
authors.affiliation: Biophysics Department, School of Medicine, SUNY/Buffalo, NY 14214.
authors.forename: K N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Leibovic
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Moreno-Diaz
mesh_terms: D000042:Absorption; D000557:Ambystoma; D000818:Animals; D002024:Bufo marinus; D008433:Mathematics; D011817:Rabbits; D011827:Radiation; D011894:Rana pipiens; D012374:Rod Cell Outer Segment / Q000502:physiology*; D012860:Skates, Fish; D014796:Visual Perception