THE SEQUENCE OF MYELINATION IN THE EPIRETINAL PORTION OF THE OPTIC NERVE IN THE RABBIT

Abstract

The epiretinal strip in the rabbit's eye starts to develop 8 days after birth, and myelination of its fibres begins at the age of 9–10 days. Myelination reaches its peak between days 15–19 and almost all the fibres are myelinated by day 22. The pattern of myelination is similar to the accepted concept for central myelinogenesis and proceeds disto‐proximally. Litter size seems to influence the time of onset and the speed of myelination. The chronological sequence of myelination is asymmetrical both between the two eyes and between the nasal and temporal sides of the same eye.