The process whose specific outcome is the progression of the visual system over time, from its formation to the mature structure, including the eye, parts of the central nervous system (CNS) involved in processing of visual inputs, and connecting nerve pathways. [ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15004427 GOC:aruk http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20647017 GOC:krc http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22632727 GOC:bc ]