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Quantitative analysis of the opossum's optic nerve: An electron microscope study
Author(s) -
Hokoç J. N.,
OswaldoCruz Ė.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
journal of comparative neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 209
eISSN - 1096-9861
pISSN - 0021-9967
DOI - 10.1002/cne.901780411
Subject(s) - opossum , electron microscope , myelin , anatomy , myelin sheath , axon , biology , optic nerve , optics , central nervous system , neuroscience , physics
An electron microscope examination of the optic nerve of the opossum, Didelphis marsupialis aurita , indicates a total count of 74,700 fibers of which approximately 20% are unmyelinated. The diameters of myelinated fibers ranged from 0.5–7.0 μm (mode at 1.25 μm) and those of the unmyelinated fibers ranged from 0.25–2.25 μm (mode at 0.75 μm). Myelinated and unmyelinated fibers are uniformly distributed throughout the nerve. Myelin sheath structure is similar to that described in other species and are formed by 2 to 17 myelin rings (mode at 6). There is a good correlation (r = 0.92) between axon and myelin areas. The relation between myelin thickness and axons diameter shows a wide distribution with a peak at 0.77.