Open AccessA light and electron microscopic study of lamellated nerve endings found in the rat cheek mucosa.
Author(s) -
Ii-sei Watanabe,
Eichi Yamada
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
archivum histologicum japonicum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 0004-0681
DOI - 10.1679/aohc.48.497
Subject(s) - endoplasmic reticulum , free nerve ending , anatomy , electron microscope , axon , microfilament , neurofilament , ultrastructure , chemistry , cytoplasm , golgi apparatus , biology , pathology , microbiology and biotechnology , cell , cytoskeleton , medicine , biochemistry , physics , immunohistochemistry , optics
Lamellated nerve endings in the cheek mucosa of fifteen adult Sprague-Dawley rats were studied with light and electron microscopes. Serial sections revealed that the terminal axon of the lamellated nerve endings is in the central portion, and that the inner core is made up of two stacks of lamellae. These are characterized by many corpuscles located within a single papilla, which shows structural specializations at several levels. Electron microscopy showed that the corpuscles are circular in shape and that the lamellar sheets possess a rich rough endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria and numerous glycogen-like granules. Numerous bundles of collagen fibers and an amorphous substance are located in the interlamellar spaces. The axon terminal is characterized by the presence of neurofilaments, neurotubules and mitochondria. The capsule consists of several laminae formed by cytoplasmic extensions of perineural cells presenting many caveolae, mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum profiles and microfilaments.