The Human Cornea – Embryogenesis and Microstructure

<jats:p>The human cornea is a transparent, avascular, dome-shaped tissue that forms the anterior refractive surface of the eye and serves as the principal barrier between the external environment and the intraocular contents. Its optical clarity, mechanical integrity, and metabolic self-sufficiency arise from a precisely layered microarchitecture assembled through a complex developmental program involving multiple embryonic tissue lineages. This chapter reviews the embryogenesis of the cornea – detailing the contributions of the surface ectoderm, the cranial neural crest, and the periocular mesoderm – and then systematically describes the microstructure of each of the five recognized corneal layers, with emphasis on the molecular and cellular basis of their properties. Clinical correlates are introduced where they illuminate structural principles.</jats:p>