Special features of human retinal angiogenesis

This review focuses on aspects of primate retinal vasculature that are not found in lower mammals, with emphasis on development of vascular patterning, the foveal avascular zone (FAZ), and pathogenesis of retinopathy of prematurity. Uniquely primate features arise from primate-specific neurovascular and neuroglial relationships. Although experimentation in primate vascular development is relatively impractical, it affords insights into normal and pathological retinal angiogenesis that is difficult to approach in other ways.