Neuronal Changes Central to the Site of Axon Transection. A Method for the Identification of Retrograde Changes in Perikarya, Dendrites and Axons by Silver Impregnation

Abstract

Two basic pathological phenomena widely utilized in experimental neuroanatomy are the Wallerian degeneration and the retrograde cell reaction. The Wallerian degeneration makes it feasible to map the course and termination of fibre tracts, whereas the retrograde cell reaction enables the investigator to identify their cells of origin. There are, however, some problems within neuroanatomy that cannot be solved by the aid of these two phenomena. For example, in many regions of the central nervous system it is impossible to make a lesion restricted to a specific cell group without damaging fibres passing through or close to that group. The ensuing degeneration will therefore not represent exclusively the lesion of the cell group in question. The conclusions that can be drawn from an experiment of this type are therefore not always as satisfactory as one would wish.