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The midbrain periaqueductal gray in the rat, cat, and monkey: A Nissl, Weil, and Golgi analysis
Author(s) -
Mantyh Patrick W.
Publication year - 1982
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.902040406
Subject(s) - cytoarchitecture , nissl body , soma , biology , periaqueductal gray , midbrain , anatomy , neuroscience , horseradish peroxidase , golgi apparatus , staining , central nervous system , microbiology and biotechnology , endoplasmic reticulum , biochemistry , genetics , enzyme
Anatomical staining methods including Nissl, Weil, Golgi, and horseradish peroxidase stain have been used to elucidate the cyto‐ and myeloarchitectural organization of the periaqueductal gray in monkey, cat, and rat. From these various staining methods it appears that the periaqueductal gray is composed of a tightly packed group of cells, which show a slight increase in soma size, dendritic diameter, and degree of myelinization from central to peripheral borders. This central gray region contains a wide variety of cell types including multipolar, fusiform, stellate, and pyramidal neurons. Clearly delineated subnuclei, distinguished on the basis of soma size, dendritic arborizations, pigmentation, or evidence of cytological individuality could not be discerned in this study. Together with the immunohistochemical and connectivity studies the present data suggest that the neuronal organization of the PAG could be described as a mosaic of clusters of functional related neurons rather than as three distinct subnuclei, each with its own unique cytoarchitecture and connectivity.