<P> In section , the retina is no more than 0.5 mm thick . It has three layers of nerve cells and two of synapses , including the unique ribbon synapse . The optic nerve carries the ganglion cell axons to the brain , and the blood vessels that supply the retina . The ganglion cells lie innermost in the eye while the photoreceptive cells lie beyond . Because of this counter-intuitive arrangement , light must first pass through and around the ganglion cells and through the thickness of the retina , ( including its capillary vessels , not shown ) before reaching the rods and cones . Light is absorbed by the retinal pigment epithelium or the choroid ( both of which are opaque ) . </P>
where do the blood vessels that supply the retinal cells lie
The optic nerve