ArticleAmerican journal of ophthalmology2012
Histologic development of the human fovea from midgestation to maturity.
Article in American journal of ophthalmology, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 167 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
167 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 301 citations in OpenAlex.
- Dynamic changes in ocular shape during human development and its implications for retina fovea formation.BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology · 2024Pooled it
- Autosomal RecessiveInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Effect of Prematurity on Foveal Development During Infancy: Increased Foveal Inner and Outer Retina Layer Thicknesses in Extremely Premature Infants.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Observational
- Development of the zebrafish foveal analogue: a quantitative atlas of high-acuity zone growth and retinal regionalisation.Biology open · 2026Article
- Henle Fibers Are Organized in Bundles Consistent Between Individuals and Conserved in Primates.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Photopic pupil size, foveal anatomy and emmetropisation: a cross-sectional study in adult eyes.BMJ open ophthalmology · 2026Article
- Isolated Bilateral Foveal Hypoplasia Diagnosed in Adulthood Following Evaluation for Presbyopia.Cureus · 2026Article
- Xanthophyll Carotenoid Intake, Plasma Levels, and Retinal Visualization in Aging and Age-Related Macular Degeneration: ALSTAR2.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Genome-wide association and multi-omics functional screens reveal the genetic architecture of foveal development.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- [Albinism: Clinical presentation, diagnostics and visual function].Die Ophthalmologie · 2026Review
- Convergent re-evolution of CNS structures: focus on the fovea.Current opinion in genetics & development · 2026Review
- Pseudo normative pattern electroretinograms in young children and infants.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2026Article
- Exploring ocular fundus morphology in relation to growth in adolescents born moderate-to-late preterm.Acta ophthalmologica · 2026Article
- Study on fundus characteristics of preschool children based on artificial intelligence quantitative technology.BMC ophthalmology · 2026Observational
- Computational Vascular Development Model Explaining Incidence of Notch in Retinopathy of Prematurity With Ultra-Widefield Optical Coherence Tomography.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Assessing the Relationship between Foveal Cone Density, Outer Nuclear Layer Thickness and Foveal Morphology.Ophthalmology science · 2026Article
- Validating DevCheck: a semi-automated computer algorithm for measuring foveal immaturity in premature infants.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2026Article
- PREVALENCE AND DEGREE OF RETINAL VASCULATURE ALTERATIONS IN ADULTS BORN PRETERM WITH VERY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT: A Birth Cohort Study.Retina (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2025Article
- The Human Fovea Is Relatively Horizontally Elongated in Infantile Nystagmus.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Article
- Genome-Wide Insights Into the Genes and Pathways Shaping Human Foveal Development: Redefining the Genetic Landscape of Foveal Hypoplasia.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Article
107 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeTo describe the histologic development of the human central retina from fetal week (Fwk) 22 to 13 years.
designRetrospective observational case series.
methodsRetinal layers and neuronal substructures were delineated on foveal sections of fixed tissue stained in azure II-methylene blue and on frozen sections immunolabeled for cone, rod, or glial proteins. Postmortem tissue was from 11 eyes at Fwk 20-27; 8 eyes at Fwk 28-37; 6 eyes at postnatal 1 day to 6 weeks; 3 eyes at 9 to 15 months; and 5 eyes at 28 months to 13 years.
resultsAt Fwk 20-22 the fovea could be identified by the presence of a single layer of cones in the outer nuclear layer. Immunolabeling detected synaptic proteins, cone and rod opsins, and Müller glial processes separating the photoreceptors. The foveal pit appeared at Fwk 25, involving progressive peripheral displacement of ganglion cell, inner plexiform, and inner nuclear layers. The pit became wider and shallower after birth, and appeared mature by 15 months. Between Fwk 25 and Fwk 38, all photoreceptors developed more distinct inner and outer segments, but these were longer on peripheral than foveal cones. After birth the foveal outer nuclear layer became much thicker as cone packing occurred. Cone packing and neuronal migration during pit formation combined to form long central photoreceptor axons, which changed the outer plexiform layer from a thin sheet of synaptic pedicles into the thickest layer in the central retina by 15 months. Foveal inner and outer segment length matched peripheral cones by 15 months and was 4 times longer by 13 years.
conclusionsThese data are necessary to understand the marked changes in human retina from late gestation to early adulthood. They provide qualitative and quantitative morphologic information required to interpret the changes in hyper- and hyporeflexive bands in pediatric spectral-domain optical coherence tomography images at the same ages.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.