Ultrastructural features of six types of neurons in rat dorsal root ganglia.

TLDR: Sections of glutaraldehyde-fixed lumbar dorsal root ganglia of the rat were examined in the electron microscope following impregnation with the uranyl-lead-copper technique or postfixation in potassium ferrocyanide-reduced osmium to identify three types of ganglion cells.

Abstract: Sections of glutaraldehyde-fixed lumbar dorsal root ganglia of the rat were examined in the electron microscope following impregnation with the uranyl-lead-copper technique or postfixation in potassium ferrocyanide-reduced osmium. Three types of ganglion cells (A, B, C) were identified on the basis of their size and the distribution of their organelles. They were further subdivided into six subtypes according to the arrangement and three-dimensional organization of the Nissl bodies and Golgi apparatus in the perikarya. Type A1 cells were large, clear neurons in which Nissl bodies, separated from each other by pale narrow strands of cytoplasm containing small stacks of Golgi saccules and rod-like mitochondria, were evenly distributed throughout the perikaryon. In type A2, the Nissl bodies assumed a similar distribution but were separated by much wider strands of cytoplasm. Type A3, the smallest of the type A category, displayed densely packed Nissl bodies and long stacks of Golgi saccules which formed a perinuclear ring in the mid-portion of the perikaryon.