Summary
Complete neurones were impregnated in the brain of the pulmonate gastropod pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis L. using the Golgi-Cox method. Mapping of small to medium sized neurones identified in living preparations by the position of the perikarya was possible. Simple monopolar and bifurcating monopolar neurones with varying lateral patterns of short fine fibres were common in the pond snail brain. Larger neurones have more complex and numerous branches originating from axons close to the perikarya than smaller ones. Stem processes originating on the cell body were observed on neurones above 30 μ in somal diameter. Possible sites for the location of chemical synapses were suggested. Functional types of neurones were difficult to separate on morphological grounds. Giant or very large neurones are small in number in pond snail ganglia, compared with medium or small neurones.
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The authors wish to thank Mr. Colin Atherton for photographic assistance and the U.K. Science Research Council for a grant to P. R. B.
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Benjamin, P.R., Ings, C.T. Golgi-Cox studies on the central nervous system of a gastropod mollusc. Z.Zellforsch 128, 564–582 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00306989
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00306989