Abstract
When chemical synapses of the axosomatic, axodendritic and neuromuscular types are compared at ultrastructural level, the pattern of their organization seems fairly uniform, as regards the axon terminals and the complexes formed by pre- and postsynaptic membranes, and by the electron-dense structures attached to the cytoplasmic surfaces of these membranes. However, the same does not always apply to the deep part of the subsynaptic cytoplasm, which may display particularities of various kinds, relating, for example,to the smooth endoplasmic reticulum or to the cytoskeleton. The subsynaptic cytoplasm may also contain, under the postsynaptic density, an electron-dense material whose distribution varies, depending on the type of synapse.
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Couteaux, R., Špaček, J. (1988). Specializations of Subsynaptic Cytoplasms. Comparison of Axospinous Synapses and Neuromuscular Junctions. In: Zimmermann, H. (eds) Cellular and Molecular Basis of Synaptic Transmission. NATO ASI Series, vol 21. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-73172-3_2
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