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Plica semilunaris

A close-up view of an eye highlighting the plica semilunaris, a small crescent fold of conjunctiva located in the inner corner near the nose.

A small crescent fold of conjunctiva in the inner corner of the human eye, against the nose. In reptiles, birds, and many mammals the equivalent structure is a working third eyelid — the nictitating membrane — that sweeps sideways across the cornea to clean and protect it. In humans it has shrunk to a pink sliver of tissue with no remaining function, kept in place largely because nothing has selected against it.

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