[The heritage and development of visual physiology in China in the past 70 years]

Vision is the receptive and cognitive process of converting light and pattern signals into nerve impulse signals. The main role of visual physiology is to elucidate the neural mechanism of vision. As an important part of visual physiology, visual electrophysiological examination, like electrocardiogram and electroencephalogram, is used to diagnose diseases through the bioelectrical phenomena generated during the activities of body organs and tissues. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, remarkable achievements have been made in basic research, translational research and clinical research of visual physiology with more than 70 years of heritage and efforts. But there are still many unknown areas that need further exploration. Looking back at the development history will encourage us to forge ahead and make more contributions to visual physiology in China. Congratulations on the 70th anniversary of the founding of Chinese Journal of Ophthalmology. （Chin J Ophthalmol， 2020， 56: 481-488）.