Proper eye structure is essential for visual function: Multiple essential eye tissues must take shape and assemble into a precise three-dimensional configuration. Accordingly, alterations to eye structure can lead to pathological conditions of visual impairment. Changes in eye shape can also be adaptive over evolutionary time. Eye structure is first established during development with the formation of the optic cup, which contains the neural retina, retinal pigment epithelium, and lens. This crucial yet deceptively simple hemispherical structure lays the foundation for all later elaborations of the eye. Building on descriptions of the embryonic eye that started with hand drawings and micrographs, the field is beginning to identify mechanisms driving dynamic changes in three-dimensional cell and tissue shape. A combination of molecular genetics, imaging, and pharmacological approaches is defining connections among transcription factors, signaling pathways, and the intracellular machinery governing the emergence of this crucial structure.

中文翻译：

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脊椎动物眼睛的形态发生

适当的眼睛结构对于视觉功能至关重要：多个重要的眼组织必须成形并组装成精确的三维结构。因此，眼睛结构的改变可能导致视觉障碍的病理状况。眼睛形状的变化也可以随着进化时间的推移而适应。眼睛结构首先在发育过程中随着视杯的形成而建立，视杯包含神经视网膜、视网膜色素上皮和晶状体。这种至关重要但看似简单的半球形结构为后来所有眼睛的阐述奠定了基础。基于从手绘和显微照片开始的胚胎眼睛描述，该领域开始确定驱动三维细胞和组织形状动态变化的机制。分子遗传学、成像和药理学方法的结合正在定义转录因子、信号通路和控制这一关键结构出现的细胞内机制之间的联系。