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Postnatal development of the ciliary body and pars plana. A morphometric study in childhood
A L Aiello1, V T Tran, N A Rao
1Department of Ophthalmology, University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles.
Insights
The human ciliary body grows significantly in early childhood, reaching three-quarters of its adult length by 24 months. This study details ciliary body and pars plana growth in children up to six years old.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Human Anatomy
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- The ciliary body is crucial for eye function and surgical access.
- Prenatal development is well-documented, but childhood growth is less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the continuing development of the ciliary body during early childhood.
- To measure the lengths of the ciliary body and pars plana in young children.
Main Methods:
- Study included 76 normal eyes from subjects aged 1 week to 6 years.
- Measurements of ciliary body and pars plana lengths were taken.
Main Results:
- The ciliary body is already substantial at birth (mean nasal length 3.06 mm, temporal 3.31 mm).
- Approximately 75% of adult ciliary body length is achieved by 24 months of age.
Conclusions:
- Significant ciliary body growth occurs in early childhood.
- Understanding this growth is important in relation to overall eye development.
Abstract:
The ciliary body of the human eye serves many vital functions and provides important access to the posterior segment of the globe in vitreoretinal surgery. Although embryogenesis and prenatal development of the ciliary body have been well documented, continuing development of the ciliary body during early childhood has not been studied extensively. We determined the lengths of the ciliary body and pars plana in 76 normal eyes of subjects who ranged in age from 1 week to 6 years. The ciliary body was found to be of substantial length soon after birth; it measured a mean of 3.06 mm nasally and 3.31 mm temporally. Three quarters of the final length of the ciliary body at adulthood was achieved by age 24 months. The growth of the ciliary body is discussed in relation to the growth of the eye.