An electrochemical model for depolarization of a retinula cell of Limulus by a single photon

The response of a visual cell in the eye of Limulus is treated mathematically in terms of a model derived from the properties of excitable nerve membranes. Electron microscopic sections of the rhabdomere indicate that its structure is a close-packed array of cylindrical tubules, the interiors of which communicate with the retinula cell cytoplasm, while the external interstitial fluid is a conducting medium continuous with the extracellular space of the ommatidium. If a single highly conducting channel is opened in this membrane structure, it can be shown how the excitation can spread to depolarize the retinula cell by several millivolts. Intense activity of "sodium pumps" in the rhabdomal membrane would be required to maintain the ionic concentrations in the interstitial fluid.