Ultrastructure of the ferret nodose ganglia

ABSTRACT

The Nodose gangalia of two male and two female adult ferrets were examined using electron microscopy. The nodose ganglion appeared as a very compact structure completely surrounded by a connective tissue capsule, occupied by nervous and glial elements and also by bundles of nerve fibers. The nerve cells with large nucleus and with one or two prominent nucleoli were recognized, and each had an intact and irregular cell membrane envelope. The nerve cells were surrounded by glial cells which were recognized by their shape and darkly stained nuclei. The common feature of the nerve cell cytoplasm was lysosome like dense bodies, clusters of ribosomes and numerous mitochondria. Myelinated and unmyelinated axons were seen between the nerve cells, among them the dense nuclei of Schwann cells were observed. No synaptic contact between the axons and the nerve cells or vesiculated axon profiles were observed in the ferret nodose ganglion, so the nerve cells are pseudounipolar type which are similar to the nodose ganglia of man and other experimental animal species. No sexual dimorphism was observed in the ferret nodose ganglion. Therefore, the ferret nodose ganglion is recommended for use in laboratory studies, concerned with the central and peripheral connections of the ganglion