Walsh & Hoyt: Embryology of the Eye and Retina

The sensory retina is a part of the central nervous system (CNS). The retina develops from the optic cup, a structure formed by the invagination of the lateral walls of the optic vesicles, which emerge as outpouchings of the prosencephalon during the third week of gestation. The invagination is dependent upon a temporally specific association of the developing optic vesicle with the overlying prelens ectoderm. The outer wall of the optic cup becomes the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), while the inner wall mostly develops into the sensory retina.