Optic vesicle

The eyes begin to develop as a pair of diverticula (pouches) from the lateral aspects of the forebrain. These diverticula make their appearance before the closure of the anterior end of the neural tube; after the closure of the tube around the 4th week of development, they are known as the optic vesicles. Previous studies of optic vesicles suggest that the surrounding extraocular tissues – the surface ectoderm and extraocular mesenchyme – are necessary for normal eye growth and differentiation.

They project toward the sides of the head, and the peripheral part of each expands to form a hollow bulb, while the proximal part remains narrow and constitutes the optic stalk, which goes on to form the optic nerve.

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  Head of chick embryo of about thirty-eight hours’ incubation, viewed from the ventral surface. X 26

• Eye development

This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 1001 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

• Fuhrmann, S. (2010). Eye Morphogenesis and Patterning of the Optic Vesicle. Current Topics in Developmental Biology Invertebrate and Vertebrate Eye Development, 61–84. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-385044-7.00003-5

• eye-012—Embryo Images at University of North Carolina
• Overview at vision.ca
• Overview at temple.edu