What are those floaty things in your eye? - Michael Mauser

Šta su plutajuće stvari u vašem oku? - Majkl Mauzer (Michael Mauser)

Prevodilac: Tijana Mihajlović Lektor: Ivana Krivokuća

Have you ever noticed something swimming in your field of vision?

Da li ste ikada primetili da nešto pliva u vašem vidnom polju?

It may look like a tiny worm or a transparent blob,

Može izgledati kao crvić ili providna grudvica,

and whenever you try to get a closer look, it disappears,

a kada god pokušate da ga izbliza pogledate, nestane,

only to reappear as soon as you shift your glance.

da bi se opet pojavilo čim skrenete pogled.

But don't go rinsing out your eyes!

Nemojte odmah ići na ispiranje očiju!

What you are seeing is a common phenomenon

Ono što vidite je uobičajena pojava

known as a floater.

poznata kao „mušice”.

The scientific name for these objects is Muscae volitantes,

Naučno ime za ove objekte

je Muscae volitantes, latinski za „leteće mušice”,

Latin for "flying flies,"

and true to their name, they can be somewhat annoying.

a u skladu sa svojim imenom, mogu biti i malo dosadne.

But they're not actually bugs or any kind of external objects at all.

Međutim, to uopšte nisu bube ili neka vrsta spoljašnjih objekata,

Rather, they exist inside your eyeball.

već postoje unutar vaše očne jabučice.

Floaters may seem to be alive, since they move and change shape,

Mušice mogu da deluju kao žive jer se kreću i menjaju oblik,

but they are not alive.

ali nisu.

Floaters are tiny objects that cast shadows on the retina,

Mušice su sićučni objekti koji bacaju senku na mrežnjaču,

the light-sensitive tissue at the back of your eye.

tkivo osetljivo na svetlost u zadnjem delu našeg oka.

They might be bits of tissue,

Mogu biti delovi tkiva,

red blood cells,

crvena krvna zrnca,

or clumps of protein.

ili grudvice proteina.

And because they're suspended within the vitreous humor,

Pošto vise u staklastom telu,

the gel-like liquid that fills the inside of your eye,

želatinastoj supstanci koja ispunjava unutrašnjost našeg oka,

floaters drift along with your eye movements,

mušice plove uz pokrete vašeg oka

and seem to bounce a little when your eye stops.

i čini se da pomalo skakuću kada se oko zaustavi.

Floaters may be only barely distinguishable most of the time.

Mušice se jedva mogu primetiti veći deo vremena.

They become more visible the closer they are to the retina,

Postaju vidljive kada su bliže mrežnjači,

just as holding your hand closer to a table with an overhead light

kao što kada približavanje ruke stolu sa svetlom iznad njega

will result in a more sharply defined shadow.

ima za rezultat jasnije definisanu senku.

And floaters are particularly noticeable

Mušice su posebno primetne

when you are looking at a uniform bright surface,

kada gledate ujednačenu sjajnu površinu,

like a blank computer screen,

kao što je prazan kompjuterski ekran,

snow,

sneg

or a clear sky,

ili jasno nebo,

where the consistency of the background makes them easier to distinguish.

kada konzistencija pozadine čini da se lakše primete.

The brighter the light is, the more your pupil contracts.

Što je svetlost jača, vaša zenica se više skuplja.

This has an effect similar to replacing a large diffuse light fixture

Ovaj efekat je sličan onome

kada na mesto jakog difuznog svetla

with a single overhead light bulb,

postavite samo jednu sijalicu,

which also makes the shadow appear clearer.

što takođe čini da se senka jasnije pojavljuje.

There is another visual phenomenon that looks similar to floaters

Postoji još jedna vizuelna pojava koja izgleda slično mušicama,

but is in fact unrelated.

ali nije zapravo povezana sa njima.

If you've seen tiny dots of light darting about

Ako ste videli tačkice svetla kako okolo lutaju

when looking at a bright blue sky,

dok gledate u jasno plavo nebo,

you've experienced what is known as the blue field entoptic phenomenon.

doživeli ste ono što je poznato kao entoptički fenomen plavog polja.

In some ways, this is the opposite of seeing floaters.

Na neki način, ovo je suprotno od primećivanja mušica.

Here, you are not seeing shadows

Ovde ne vidite senke,

but little moving windows letting light through to your retina.

već male pokretne prozore koji propuštaju svetlo u vašu mrežnjaču.

The windows are actually caused by white blood cells

Prozore zapravo stvaraju bela krvna zrnca

moving through the capillaries along your retina's surface.

koja se kreću kroz kapilare pored površine mrežnjače.

These leukocytes can be so large that they nearly fill a capillary

Ovi leukociti mogu biti toliko veliki da skoro ispunjavaju kapilar,

causing a plasma space to open up in front of them.

uzrokujući da se prostor sa plazmom otvori ispred njih.

Because the space and the white blood cells

Pošto su i prostor i bela krvna zrnca

are both more transparent to blue light

vidljiviji na plavom svetlu nego crvena krvna zrnca

than the red blood cells normally present in capillaries,

koja se obično nalaze u kapilarima,

we see a moving dot of light wherever this happens,

vidimo pokretnu tačkicu svetla gde god da se ovo dešava,

following the paths of your capillaries and moving in time with your pulse.

dok prati puteve vaših kapilara i kreće se u skladu sa vašim pulsom.

Under ideal viewing conditions,

Pod idealnim posmatračkim uslovima,

you might even see what looks like a dark tail following the dot.

možda ćete čak videti i nešto što izgleda kao tamni rep

koji prati tačku.

This is the red blood cells that have bunched up behind the leukocyte.

Ovo su crvena krvna zrnca koja su se grupisala iza leukocita.

Some science museums have an exhibit which consists of a screen of blue light,

Neki muzeji nauke imaju izložbu koja se sastoji od ekrana plavog svetla,

allowing you to see these blue sky sprites much more clearly than you normally would.

omogućavajući vam da vidite ove duhove plavog neba

mnogo jasnije nego obično.

While everybody's eyes experience these sort of effects,

Dok svačije oči doživljavaju ovakvu vrstu efekata,

the number and type vary greatly.

broj i tip se znatno razlikuju.

In the case of floaters,

U slučaju mušica, često se provuku neprimećeni,

they often go unnoticed, as our brain learns to ignore them.

pošto su naši mozgovi naučili da ih ignorišu.

However, abnormally numerous

Međutim, neuobičajeno brojne

or large floaters that interfere with vision

ili velike mušice koje ometaju vid

may be a sign of a more serious condition, requiring immediate medical treatment.

mogu biti znak ozbiljnijeg stanja,

što zahteva momentalno medicinsko lečenje,

But the majority of the time entoptic phenomena,

ali u većem broju slučajeva, entoptičke pojave

such as floaters and blue sky sprites,

kao što su mušice ili duhovi plavog neba,

are just a gentle reminder that what we think we see

samo su blagi podsetnik da ono što mislimo da vidimo

depends just as much on our biology and minds

zavisi onoliko od naše biologije i umova

as it does on the external world.

koliko i od spoljašnjeg sveta.