Development Of The Ocular Lens

This book provides a comprehensive view of research in lens developmental biology, emphasising technical and molecular breakthroughs. Elucidation of the mechanisms that govern lens development has enabled us to understand how the normal lens forms and how developmental processes are involved in the maintenance of its normal structure, function and growth throughout life. This knowledge is fundamental to our understanding of many lens disorders. The ocular lens has also become a model for understanding the developmental biology of more complex organ systems. In this 2004 book, leading experts in lens cell biology and development discuss lens evolution, induction, morphology, the regulation of the lens cell cycle and fiber cell differentiation, as well as lens regeneration. This book is an authoritative treatment of the subject that will serve as a reference for graduate students and research scientists in developmental biology and in the visual sciences, as well as for ophthalmologists.

This 2004 book provides an authoritative treatment of the developmental biology of the ocular lens for graduate students and researchers.

The eye has fascinated scientists from the earliest days of biological investigation. The diversity of its parts and the precision of their interac tion make it a favorite model system for a variety of developmental studies. The eye is a particularly valuable experimental system not only because its tissues provide examples of fundamental processes, but also because it is a prominent and easily accessible structure at very early embryonic ages. In order to provide an open forum for investigators working on all aspects of ocular development, a series of symposia on ocular and visual de velopment was initiated in 1973. A second purpose has been to foster communication between the basic research worker and the clinical community. It is our feeling that much can be learned on both sides from this interaction. The idea for an informal meeting allowing a maximum exchange of ideas originated with Dr. Leon Candeub, who supplied the necessary driving force that made the series a reality.

This monograph, unlike most previously published books on the subject, approaches the embryology of the eye and its adnexae from the perspective of gestational age, providing a unique overall view of the various structures of the eye at different stages of prenatal development. Embryogenesis, organogenesis and differentiation are three main periods that can be distinguished in the prenatal development of the human eye. The chapters in this book describe in detail the series of sequential events that occur during these periods from the fertilization of the ovum to, and after, birth. Superbly illustrated and clearly written, this text contains a wealth of information for residents in ophthalmology, neonatal and pediatric ophthalmologists, as well as for all ophthalmologists and physicians interested in developmental anomalies.

"Who would believe that so small a space could contain the images of all the universe?" Leonardo da Vinci The last years of the 20th century have found the discipline of Developmental Biology returning to its original position at the forefront of biological re search. This progress can be attributed to the burgeoning knowledge base on molecules and gene families, and to the power of the molecular genetic ap proach. Topping the list of organ systems which have provided the most significant advances would have to be the eye. The vertebrate eye was one of the classic embryologic models, used to demonstrate many important prin ciples, including the concepts of inductive tissue interactions first put forth in the early 1900s. Within the last decade of this century, a return to some of the old questions with the new approaches has put eye development back into the limelight. I find this a highly appropriate topic for a book which aims to spark research for the new millennium. We begin with a chapter that discusses the anatomy of eye development, providing the basic reference information for the chapters that follow. A novel aspect of this introduction is the connection made between develop mental strategies and the eye's optical function. What also emerges from this chapter is the number of important eye structures that have barely been touched by the modern developmental biologist. Work on cornea and ante rior chamber development has lagged behind lens and retina.