Fixed and nonfixed tissues from optic nerves of 20-day-old mice were examined with the electron microscope using the freeze-etching method. In this study the filaments of fibrous astrocytes are compared with those of axons. Both the astrocytic perikaryon and the processes show a characteristic aspect in view of the arrangement and density of filaments. The most reliable criterion to distinguish them from nonmyelinated axons is the presence of areas with packed filaments. Furthermore, we demonstrated morphometrically that the filaments of axons and astrocytes from prefixed specimens had a statistically significant (p < 0.001) smaller diameter (9.5 ± 0.3nm) than those from nonprefixed ones (10.5 ± 0.3 nm). The diameters of filaments in axons and astrocytes are identical in fixed as well as in non-fixed material. The fine structure of filaments displays in addition to a helical form also a certain periodicity.

Keywords:
Filaments, Fibrous astrocytes, Axons
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© 1978 S. Karger AG, Basel
1978
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