The process whose specific outcome is the progression of the dorsal region of the spinal cord over time, from its formation to the mature structure. The dorsal region of the mature spinal cord contains neurons that process and relay sensory input. [ GOC:cls GOC:dgh GOC:jid http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/go/references/0000021 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11179871 GOC:dph ]