Thumbprints - Human Eyelash

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The eyelash is a sensory appendage along the edges of the eyelids that serve the same purpose as the whiskers on animals. The eyelash acts like a sensitive warning system that closes the eyelids when an irritant, such as dust, gets too close. At the tip of the eyelash, high magnification shows another set of appendages protruding. It can be inferred that these extensions of the eyelash tip serve as the detectors. The length of the eyelash looks very similar to that of hair and probably acts as the cover sheath for the detectors.

For information on microscopic creatures that live at the root of the eyelash, check out:

     http://www.geocities.com/thesciencefiles/
     eyelash/creatures.html

~A. Trees