Elsevier

Ophthalmology

Volume 91, Issue 6, June 1984, Pages 603-612
Ophthalmology

The Morphological Development of the Human Fovea

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0161-6420(84)34247-6Get rights and content

Abstract

The development of the human fovea has been traced from 22 weeks gestation to 45 months postpartum using aldehyde-fixed, plastic embedded, serially-sectioned normal retinas. Five anatomical indicators of foveal maturity were used in this study: the shape of the foveal curvatures; the presence of the transient layer of Chievitz; the width of rod-free zone in the central retina; the width and length of the individual foveal cones; and the number and thickness of layers of nuclei within the fovea. The future fovea is identifiable at 22 weeks by the presence of a thick layer of ganglion cells and a photoreceptor layer containing only cones. By 1 week after birth, there is a shallow foveal depression, but the thick cones still lack outer segments and are only 1 cell deep in the fovea. The inner nuclear layer contains a thick transient layer of Chievitz. As judged by these anatomical criteria and compared to normal adult foveas similarly processed, the human fovea reaches maturity between 15 and 45 months of age.

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Supported by PHS grants EY-01208 and EY-04536. Anita Hendrickson is the receipient of a Dolly Green Scholar Award from Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc. Cristine Yuodelis is the recipient of a Lions Sight Conservation Foundation Medical Student Fellowship and was supported in part by an unrestricted grant from Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc.

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