The power of molecular genetics has recently returned the discipline of Developmental Biology to its original position at the forefront of biological research. The vertebrate eye was one of the classic embryologic models in the early 1900s. Within the last decade of the 20th century, a return to some of the old questions with the new approaches has put eye development back into the limelight. This book provides an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the field. The latest advances in delineating genetic hierarchies for eye development in animals are discussed, as well as their relationship to congenital disorders of the eye which affect humans. Since studies in Drosophila have provided significant insight, chapters on this invertebrate model are included. In addition, a number of related areas are discussed which are unique to this book: developmental anatomy of the eye from the perspective of its optical function, recent advances in understanding how the retina connects to the brain, the role of extracellular matrix and cell adhesion molecules in eye development, and two chapters on eye regeneration in amphibians and fish.
