The Dendritic Complexity and Innervation of Submandibular Neurons in Five Species of Klamkals
The Journal of Neuroscience, June 1987, 7(6): 1760-l 768 The Dendritic Complexity and Innervation of Submandibular Neurons in Five Species of klamkals William D. Snider Departments of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Neurology and Neurological Surgery (Neurology), Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110 I have compared the dendritic complexity and innervation of of the relationships among preganglionicconvergence, dendritic homologous parasympathetic ganglion cells in several complexity, and animal size. I have therefore studied neuronal closely related species of mammals. In the smaller of these morphology and innervation in a parasympathetic ganglion (the species (mouse, hamster, and rat), submandibular ganglion submandibular) of 5 small mammals.I show here that dendritic cells generally lack dendrites altogether and are innervated complexity and convergence are correlated in the submandib- by a single axon. In the guinea pig, a somewhat larger species, ular ganglion and that both parameters change in rough pro- these neurons possess rudimentary dendritic arbors and are portion to animal weight across these species.I suggestthat innervated by 2 axons, on average. In the largest species trophic interactions with peripheral targets may link these as- investigated, the rabbit, submandibular ganglion cells have pects of neural organization to animal size. moderately complex dendritic arbors and receive innerva- tion from several axons. These findings, together with a pre- vious study of sympathetic ganglion cells in these same Materials and Methods species (Purves and Lichtman, 1985a), indicate that rela- Young adult mice, hamsters,rats, guineapigs, and rabbitsat approxi- tionships among neuronal morphology, convergent inner- mately the age of sexualmaturity were studied.Females were used vation, and animal size are widespread in the autonomic exclusively becausesome autonomic ganglia show significantsexual nervous system of mammals.
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