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Histochemistry of Polyanions in Peripheral Nerve

  • Chapter
Complex Carbohydrates of Nervous Tissue

Abstract

Ranvier (1871) in 1871 was the first to describe periodic constrictions of the external contour of peripheral myelinated nerve fibers that coincided with interruptions in the myelin sheath. He also observed that the axon itself was continuous across the “annular constrictions” or nodes, and that only a single Schwann cell nucleus appeared between each pair of nodes along the same fiber. Ranvier was also the first to use heavy metals to stain nodes. He found that after immersion of unfixed nerves in dilute silver nitrate solution and subsequent exposure to sunlight, a “petite croix latine,” now known as the “cross of Ranvier,” revealed the location of each node (see Fig. 1*). He believed the transverse bar of the cross to be due to the presence of a ring of “cement” substance representing the contact zone between adjacent Schwann cells, while the longitudinal bar was due to staining within the axon. Nemiloff (1908) also described the staining of the nodal cement substance in unfixed nerves with methylene blue. Early attempts to demonstrate other ionic species at nodes of Ranvier by precipitation with heavy metals were also made (Macallum, 1905; Macallumand Menten, 1906).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Neurology, London, England

    O. K. Langley

  2. Institut de Chimie Biologique de la Faculté de Medecine, Strasbourg, France

    O. K. Langley

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  1. O. K. Langley
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. New York University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA

    Richard U. Margolis

  2. Downstate Medical Center, State University of New York, Brooklyn, New York, USA

    Renée K. Margolis

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Langley, O.K. (1979). Histochemistry of Polyanions in Peripheral Nerve. In: Margolis, R.U., Margolis, R.K. (eds) Complex Carbohydrates of Nervous Tissue. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2925-1_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2925-1_10

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