Further Electron Microscopical Investigations of the Inferior Olive of the Cat

The findings show that the fine structure of the inferior olive in many respects is similar to that found in other regions of the central nervous system examined with the electron microscope, which makes it likely that intravital perfusion with formaldehyde is valuable when, in larger animals, a rapid fixation of regions not immediately accessible from the surface is wanted.

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter considers a study on fine structure of the olive of the cat with particular focuses on certain findings. Perfusion with formalin has been used in the study. The micrographs in the study show that the components of the cells are well preserved. The extracellular spaces are usually about 200 A in the cats perfused with formalin—that is, of the same sizes as in cats from which tissue is fixed directly in osmium. These observations make it likely that intravital perfusion with formaldehyde is valuable when, in larger animals, a rapid fixation of regions not immediately accessible from the surface is wanted. The findings show that the fine structure of the inferior olive in many respects is similar to that found in other regions of the central nervous system examined with the electron microscope. On some points, the structure of the nuclear complex differs from what has been observed in other regions of the central nervous system.