A quantitative light microscopic study of the dendrites of cat spinal gamma -motoneurons after intracellular staining with horseradish peroxidase.

By use of intracellular staining with horseradish peroxidase (HRP), the dendritic systems of spinal gamma-motoneurons of the adult cat were studied with a light microscope. The dendrites extended in various directions up to 1.5 mm from the cell body. The dendritic branching was sparse and even unbranched dendrites were occasionally seen. The number and combined diameter of the first-order dendrites increased in parallel with the mean cell body diameter. The number of dendritic end branches, the combined dendritic length, the membrane surface area, and the volume of the entire dendrite correlated positively with the diameter of the parent first-order dendrite. In comparison with the alpha -motoneurons (Ulfhake and Kellerth, '81) the gamma -motoneurons had smaller values for mean cell body diameter and mean diameter of the first-order dendrites and they also had a smaller number of first-order dendrites. The dendrites of the gamma-motoneurons were also found to have fewer branching points and larger values for combined dendritic length. The relation between the diameter of the first-order dendrite and the surface area of the entire dendrite was almost identical for the two types of motoneurons.