Investigations of the Neuropil On the Analysis of Axon Terminals in the Dentate Nucleus

Abstract

Previous chapters dealt with the perikarya of neurons and neuroglia of the dentate nucleus and particular attention was devoted to the distribution of axon terminals on the somata and proximal dendrites of the neurons. This leaves however, a considerable portion of the dentate nucleus still unexplored, in particular, the neuropil, or the nervous tissue surrounding but not occupied by neuronal or neuroglial cell bodies. The neuropil consists of parts of dendrites and their appendages, axons of all origins and descriptions, synaptic contacts between axons and dendrites, and neuroglial processes. The present chapter will resume the fine structural analysis of the dentate nucleus by review of the investigations of this neuropil, with particular attention to the population of axon terminals.