Regional changes in retinal pigment epithelial cell density during ocular development.
The density of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells in various parts of the posterior segment of developing human eyes was examined. The material for study consisted of 19 autopsy eyes, ranging in age from the sixth gestational month to 6 postnatal years. Whereas RPE cell density gradually increased in the macular area up to 6 months of age, cell density dropped in all other areas of the posterior segment through the first 2 postnatal years. The decrease in cell density was especially marked near the ora serrata. Mitotic figures were rarely seen and only found in the eyes of preterm infants. The author concludes that the increase in total surface area of the RPE during the period studied is primarily accounted for by changes in the regional density of the existing cell population. A centripetal shifting of cells toward the macular area from more peripheral areas would account for the increasing density in the posterior pole.
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000166:cytology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010857:Pigment Epithelium of Eye / Q000166:cytology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012160:Retina / Q000254:growth & development*