Dorsal Root Ganglion Cells and their Processes

Abstract

Somatic primary afferent neurons are important in spinal sensory mechanisms for they receive information from the periphery and transmit it to the cord. These neurons are housed in dorsal root ganglia (and cranial nerve equivalents), so they are called dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cells. These cells are unipolar, sometimes called pseudounipolar because they originate as bipolar cells (Dogiel, 1908; Ranson, 1912), with the main process splitting into peripheral and central processes (Fig. 3.1). The central processes are called dorsal root axons because they travel in the dorsal root on their way to the cord.