pupils to optimise the field of view and image quality of horizontal contours. They further explained why elongated pupils are correlated with the animal's height. Society and culture In a surprising number of unrelated languages, the etymological meaning of the term for pupil is "little person". This is true, for example, of the word pupil itself: this comes into English from Latin pūpilla, which means "doll, girl", and is a diminutive form of pupa, "girl". (The double meaning in Latin is preserved in English, where pupil means both "schoolchild" and "dark central portion of the eye within the iris".) This may be because the reflection of one's image in the pupil is a minuscule version of one's self. In the Old Babylonian period (c. 1800-1600 BC) in ancient Mesopotamia, the expression "protective spirit of the eye" is attested, perhaps arising from the same phenomenon. The English phrase apple of my eye arises from an Old English usage, in which the word apple meant not only the fruit but also the pupil or eyeball. See also Pupillary response Pupil function Dilated fundus examination Eye contact Horner's syndrome Mydriasis Synechia (eye) Anisocoria Adie's pupil Argyll Robertson pupil Light-near dissociation Marcus Gunn Pupil References External links — "Sagittal Section Through the Eyeball" — "Sagittal Section Through the Eyeball" A pupil examination simulator, demonstrating the changes in pupil reactions for various nerve lesions. Ethology Articles containing video clips