Quantitative histological studies on the lateral geniculate nucleus in the cat. I. Measurements on Golgi material.

Numerical data of neuron and fiber elements were observed and measured on Golgi preparations. The aim of the quantitative Golgi analysis was to obtain data on the spatial arrangement of arely neurons, their relations to the interneurons, on the spatial architecture of the arborizations of optic fibers and their relations to the main neuron types. The quantitative data on arely neurons include numbers of dendrites, of their chief points of ramification as the main targets of the optic afferents, geometric data on the "specific active sphere" of the dendritic tree; on the arborization of initial collaterals. The data on interneurons refer both to numeric and geometric parameters of their axonal arborizations, and to those of various characteristics of their dendritic processes. The data on optic fibers include the size of their arborization space, the numbers of bouton clusters and preterminal bouquets per arborization.