The progression of the lateral geniculate nucleus over time from its initial formation until its mature state. The lateral geniculate nucleus is the primary processor of visual information received from the retina. [ GOC:dph http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/go/references/0000021 GOC:dgh http://openisbn.com/search.php?q=0878937420&isbn=1/ GOC:cls GOC:jid ]