We studied the ultrastructure of the four types of dysplastic rosettes and compared them with retinoblastoma rosettes. Dysplastic rosettes have morphologic characteristics intermediate between the normal photoreceptor layer and retino-blastoma rosettes; Müller cells contribute to the formation of dysplastic but not neoplastic rosettes. Abnormality in the relationship between the retina and the retinal pigment epithelium is frequent in cases with spontaneously occurring retinal dsyplasia and is consistent with previous observations that the retinal pigment epithelium influences the development of retinal morphology and function. We believe the normal developmental sequence of cell death and disappearance of necrotic cells may have gone awry in retinal dysplasia.