Page 128 - Once Upon a Time There Was Darwinism

Once Upon a Time
There Was Darwinism

Where, then, does the blood come from?
At this point, we see why the inverted retina is a per-
fect sign of Creation. Right external to the retina layer lies a very

important tissue of veins that envelop it like a net. Denton writes:
The oxygen and nutrients for the voracious metabolic appetite of
the photoreceptors are provided by a unique capillary bed, called
the choriocapillaris, which is an anatomizing network of large and
flattened capillaries which form a rich vascular layer situated im-
mediately external to the photoreceptors, separated from them only
by the retinal cell epithelial cell layer (RPE) and a special mem-
brane—Bruch's membrane—which together form a highly selective
barrier which only allows passage into the retina of metabolites and
nutrients required for the function of the RPE and photoreceptor
cells. These capillaries are much larger than standard capillaries
being between 18–50 microns in diameter. This unique network of
blood channels gives every impression of being specially adapted to
provide the photoreceptor layer with copious quantities of blood. 71
In his book, An Introduction to the Biology of Vision, Professor
James T. McIlwain writes, "Because of the great metabolic needs of the
photoreceptors, the eye seems to have adopted the strategy of 'swamping'
the choroid with blood to ensure that supply is never a problem." 72
It is for this reason that the photoreceptors are "inverted."
Clearly, there is a strategy here. The inverted arrangement of the

retina is not faulty as Dawkins claimed, but is proof of Creation
for a specific purpose.
In a relevant article, Denton examines whether the retina
could have been formed in a different way. His conclusion
was that it could not. Dawkins' suggestion that the
retina should be flat, with the receptor cells facing

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