Analysis of Cytogenesis in Chick Retina by Tritiated Thymidine Autoradiography

Abstract

Using cumulative labeling method, cytogenesis of chick retina was studied by H³-thymidine autoradiography and the followings were concluded.
The first to differentiate in the optic retina are the neurons in the ganglionic layer. The process of differentiation begins at the medial pole on the 5th day of incubation and spreads toward the ora serrata, taking 2 days. The cells in the visual cell layer are differentiated a little later, probably by one day, than the ganglionic cells. This process first takes place in the region near the pecten of the eye and gradually spreads toward the medial pole and then to the periphery. Most mitotic figures found during the second week of incubation in the visual cell layer seem to belong to the matrix cells in the bipolar cell layer.