[Review on the properties of glial cells of the central nervous system (author's transl)].

During the past 15 years, increasing studies have been devoted to glial cells, i.e. oligodendrocytes, astrocytes and microglial cells of the central nervous system. Although most of their functions remain mysterious, the concept of intracellular interactions between neurons and neuroglia becomes more and more substantiated. This review describes some aspects of phylogeny of glia, recent technical approaches to the study of these cells, their major morphological and biochemical characteristics, their maturation as well as their pathology.