Skip to main content

Development of the Human Eye

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Fetal and Neonatal Eye Pathology

Abstract

The development of the human eye starts in the third week of the embryonal stage, continues through the fetal stage, and is completed after birth. The intricate processes of the ocular development may be disturbed at any stage, leading to more or less severe congenital malformations such as colobomas or anterior segment developmental anomalies. This chapter delineates the fetal and neonatal eye development based on images of the developing human eye, with an emphasis on the second and third trimesters which are most relevant for pathological examination. Processes required to understand congenital malformations of the eye are emphasized.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Barishak YR. Embryology of the eye and its adnexa, 2nd rev. Basel: Karger; 2001. https://doi.org/10.1159/isbn.978-3-318-00662-9.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  2. Sadler TW, Langman J. Langman’s medical embryology. 12th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Mann I. The development of the human eye. 2nd ed. New York: Grune & Stratton; 1950.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Jakobiec FA. Ocular anatomy, embryology, and teratology. Philadelphia: Harper & Row; 1982.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Seefelder R. Die Entwicklung des menschlichen Auges. In: Schieck F, Brückner A (Hrsg). Kurzes Handbuch der Ophthalmologie, Band 1. Berlin: Julius Springer; 1930.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Badtke G, Tost M. Normale Entwicklung des menschlichen Auges/Mißbildungen des menschlichen Auges. In: Velhagen K (Hrsg). Der Augenarzt, Band XI. Leipzig: VEB Georg Thieme; 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Gilbert-Barness E, editor. Potter’s pathology of the fetus, infant and child. 2nd ed. New York: Mosby Elsevier; 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Ort V, Howard D. Development of the eye. http://education.med.nyu.edu/courses/macrostructure/lectures/lec_images/eye.html. Accessed 10 Jul 2019.

  9. Williams AL, Bohnsack BL. Neural crest derivatives in ocular development: discerning the eye of the storm. Birth Defects Res C Embryo Today. 2015;105:87–95. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdrc.21095.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Ito M, Nakashima M, Tsuchida N, Imaki J, Yoshioka M. Histogenesis of the intravitreal membrane and secondary vitreous in the mouse. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2007;48:1923–30. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.06-0325.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Herwig MC, Müller AM, Holz FG, Loeffler KU. Immunolocalization of different collagens in the cornea of human fetal eyes: a developmental approach. Curr Eye Res. 2013;38:60–9. https://doi.org/10.3109/02713683.2012.738461.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Remón L, Cristóbal JA, Castillo J, Palomar T, Palomar A, Pérez J. Central and peripheral corneal thickness in full-term newborns by ultrasonic pachymetry. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1992;33:3080–3.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Murphy C, Alvarado J, Juster R. Prenatal and postnatal growth of the human Descemet’s membrane. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1984;25:1402–15.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Tamm ER. Entwicklung des Kammerwinkels und kongenitales Glaukom [development of the iridocorneal angle and congenital glaucoma]. Ophthalmologe. 2011;108:610–4–6–7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00347-010-2294-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Wright KW, Spiegel PH. Pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus. New York: Springer; 2003.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  16. Hendrickson A, Djajadi H, Erickson A, Possin D. Development of the human retina in the absence of ganglion cells. Exp Eye Res. 2006;83:920–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exer.2006.04.017.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Hendrickson A, Possin D, Vajzovic L, Toth CA. Histologic development of the human fovea from midgestation to maturity. Am J Ophthalmol. 2012;154:767–78.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajo.2012.05.007.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Sisk RA, Berrocal AM, Feuer WJ, Murray TG. Visual and anatomic outcomes with or without surgery in persistent fetal vasculature. Ophthalmology. 2010;117:2178–83.e1–2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ophtha.2010.03.062.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Hendrickson A. A morphological comparison of foveal development in man and monkey. Eye (Lond). 1992;6:136–44. https://doi.org/10.1038/eye.1992.29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert M. Verdijk .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Verdijk, R.M., Herwig-Carl, M.C. (2020). Development of the Human Eye. In: Fetal and Neonatal Eye Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36079-5_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36079-5_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-36078-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-36079-5

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics