A second type of horizontal cell in the monkey retina.

A second type of horizontal cell with a distinctly different appearance from the previously known horizontal cell has been seen in Golgi-impregnated monkey retinas. The new HII cell has a different dendritic branching pattern from the commonly described HI cell type, and it has a short convoluted axon with collaterals bearing small clusters of terminals. Comparisons of the two cell types at different retinal eccentricities show that HII cells have larger dendritic trees than HI cells in the foveal region but smaller dendritic trees than HIs in peripheral retina. Dendritic terminals of the new HII cell, like the HI cell, contact cone pedicles as lateral elements of the ribbon synapses. The isolated terminals or clusters of terminals borne by the short axon of the HII cell also contact cone pedicles as lateral elements rather than contacting rod spherules as lateral elements like HI terminal arborizations. Thus, the monkey like other vertebrates has at least two horizontal cell types which differ in morphology and synaptic connections.