Astrocytes in the prenatal central nervous system. From 5th to 28th week of gestation. An immunohistochemical study on paraffin-embedded material.

The CNS from 30 normal fetuses aged 5-28 weeks were studied in GFAP stained paraffin-embedded material. The technique of preparation, autopsy and fixation is described in details. GFAP reacting glial cells developed first in the spinal cord at 7 weeks, and appeared in all regions of CNS during fetal life in a systematic way but with a temporal variation. The supporting and guiding properties of the fibrillary astrocytes are stressed.