photoreceptor
noun
pho·to·re·cep·tor ˌfō-tō-ri-ˈsep-tər 
: a receptor for light stimuli
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The researchers captured photos and videos of light beaming through these microlenses into darkness where, in a living animal, photoreceptor pigments would have waited. 
Quanta Magazine, 5 Apr. 2022 When a photon of light is absorbed by a photopigment molecule in a photoreceptor, the energy in the photon is used to break a specific chemical bond in the photopigment. Gabriel A. Silva, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2021 Oakley and his colleagues found that in all nine of those cases, many of the molecular components of the photoreceptor cells, pigment cells and lens cells had previous roles in the stress response to light. Quanta Magazine, 16 Aug. 2021 The patient in the study was diagnosed at age 18 with an eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa, which causes the photoreceptor cells to die. Caroline Seydel, Forbes, 14 June 2021 The nocturnal nature of the species predating the evolution of mammals may have led to a reduction in the number of photoreceptor types enabling human color perception. Adrian Woolfson, WSJ, 31 May 2021 Interfering in photoreceptor signaling, the circadian clock and chloroplast-derived light signals did cause problems in some genes’ expression, but there was a large proportion of genes still unaffected. Mike Wehner, BGR, 8 June 2021 When light enters the eye, it is captured by photoreceptor cells. BostonGlobe.com, 24 May 2021 Retinitis pigmentosa causes the photoreceptor cells to break down, resulting in vision loss. Amy Dockser Marcus, WSJ, 24 May 2021 See More
Quanta Magazine, 5 Apr. 2022 When a photon of light is absorbed by a photopigment molecule in a photoreceptor, the energy in the photon is used to break a specific chemical bond in the photopigment. Gabriel A. Silva, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2021 Oakley and his colleagues found that in all nine of those cases, many of the molecular components of the photoreceptor cells, pigment cells and lens cells had previous roles in the stress response to light. Quanta Magazine, 16 Aug. 2021 The patient in the study was diagnosed at age 18 with an eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa, which causes the photoreceptor cells to die. Caroline Seydel, Forbes, 14 June 2021 The nocturnal nature of the species predating the evolution of mammals may have led to a reduction in the number of photoreceptor types enabling human color perception. Adrian Woolfson, WSJ, 31 May 2021 Interfering in photoreceptor signaling, the circadian clock and chloroplast-derived light signals did cause problems in some genes’ expression, but there was a large proportion of genes still unaffected. Mike Wehner, BGR, 8 June 2021 When light enters the eye, it is captured by photoreceptor cells. BostonGlobe.com, 24 May 2021 Retinitis pigmentosa causes the photoreceptor cells to break down, resulting in vision loss. Amy Dockser Marcus, WSJ, 24 May 2021 See More Word History
First Known Use
1906, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
photoreceptor
noun
pho·to·re·cep·tor -ˈsep-tər
: a receptor for light stimuli