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The fine structural features of a retinal: melanophage, observed in degenerating retinae of Notophthalmus viridescens is described. The melanophage, believed to originate from the vascular supply, serves for the stepwise degradation of extruded single melanin granules from cellular elements of the pigment epithelium which are forming the regenerated retina.

The process of retinal regeneration in adult Triturus cristatus carnifex was analyzed autoradiographically following tritiated thymidine administration at closely spaced postoperative intervals. In unoperated control animals given five daily doses of labeled thymidine, a continuous input of two types of cells was observed from the ora serrata into the ganglion cell and inner nuclear layers. One cell type appeared to represent retinal neurons with dispersed nuclear chromatin while the second cell type, containing a nucleus with dense heterochromatic rim, was displaced into all retinal layers with time, ultimately appearing within the layer of photoreceptor outer segments approximating the pigment epithelium. In operated animals, both control and operated (enucleated) eyes showed a loss of proliferative capacity from the ora serrata by two days postoperative. Retinal degeneration and regeneration in this species differed from that observed earlier for Notophthalmus viridescens in that: (1) invading pigment epithelia dissected the degenerating retina sequestering the outer nuclear layer between two epithelial sheets for phagocytosis by day 8; (2) degenerating inner retinal cells demonstrated labeling with thymidine and mitotic division before degeneration; (3) the process of removal of retinal and lens debris was assisted by vascularly derived phagocytes. The restoration of the retina involves both cellular addition from the anterior pars ciliaris retina and ora serrata, forming the anterior half of the new retina, and the posterior pigment epithelium, forming the posterior half of the retina from the innermost lamina. Sites of regional cellular proliferation at the vortex veins do not develop in this species. The basal pigment epithelium, upon Bruch's membrane, does not contribute to the retinal regenerate. The species differences presented in the process of retinal regeneration and the implications for the understanding of the generation of retinotectal specificity are discussed. It is concluded that the specificity engendered during both development and regeneration in this system must: (1) be derived from the ganglion cells; (2) be responsible for not only tectal connections but intra-retinal position and connectivity; and, (3) not be temporally related.

The process of retinal degeneration and regeneration in retinectomized or enucleated and reimplanted eyes of adult Notophthalmus viridescens has been studied following staged administrations of tritiated thymidine or colchicine. In control left eyes, no labeled cells were observed in either the retina, pigment epithelium, or ora serrata. In retinectomized or enucleated eyes, retinal degeneration proceeded from the posterior central pole circumferentially to the ora serrata, with complete retinal degeneration being consistently observed. Retinal replacement originated from two cellular sources: the posterior pigment epithelium and the anterior complex, consisting of cells in the ora serrata and pars ciliaris retina. The posterior pigment epithelium gave rise to an initial central retinal portion which differentiated in an annular pattern which extended from the optic nerve to the vortex veins. Cellular addition from the pigment epithelium became restricted to these two regions by day 25. The anterior retinal mass was regenerated from the anterior elements (ora serrata/pars ciliaris retina) with a minor contribution from the underlying anterior pigment epithelium. Data concerning the relative numbers of cellular types involved in the regenerative sequence and the times of their function are presented. Peak labeling occurred in the posterior pigment epithelium at day 20, the pars ciliaris retina at days 18 and 40, and the new retina at days 28 and 41. By 30 days regional sites of cellular proliferation became established that coincided with the pattern of ocular blood vessels. Retinal differentiation followed the pattern commonly observed during retinal development. The significance of these observations with respect to earlier work demonstrating a different sequence for retinal restoration is discussed.