The Fovea: Structure, Function, Development, and Disease summarizes the current biological knowledge regarding the two types of the vertebrate fovea (and its main structural elements, the Müller cells). This information is then used to explain different aspects of human vision, foveal development, and macular disorders. Sections give an overview of the retinal structure and the different types of retinal glia, survey the structure and function of the primate and non-mammalian fovea types, ...

Müller cells may be used in the future for novel therapeutic strategies to protect neurons against apoptosis (for example, somatic gene therapy), or to differentiate retinal neurons from Müller/stem cells. Meanwhile, a proper understanding of the gliotic responses of Müller cells in the diseased retina, and of their protective vs. detrimental effects, is essential for the development of efficient therapeutic strategies that use and stimulate the neuron-supportive/-protective - and prevent ...