This dissertation will look at the various layers and structures in the retina not from a functional point of view but from an optical one: light has to travel through most of the retinal layers before reaching the photoreceptor layer, and in retinal imaging systems we require light to travel back through the retinal layers so that we can form an image of the retinal structures. How do different layers and structures of the retina affect light as it travels through them? How much is reflected, absorbed and scattered at each layer and how does the polarisation of light change as it propagates through the retina? This dissertation will combine knowledge from a large range of studies investigating different aspects of the optical properties of the retina to give as complete a picture as possible of the retina from an optical view point