Outgrowing nerves in the foreleg of a mouse embryo as viewed by three-dimensional reconstruction from electron micrographs.

Electron micrographs from serial cross-sections of 12-day-old mouse forelegs were digitized and three-dimensional reconstruction of the data was carried out on an Apple Macintosh Quadra 700 computer using a program especially designed for this purpose. Two nerve endings of the palmar net of the median nerve were visualized together with their accompanying Schwann cells and the surrounding processes of fibroblasts. Naked axons invade straightly into the embryonic connective tissue and serve as contact guidance for the Schwann cells to follow. Fibroblasts with long processes extend around the axons with a parallel orientation. Contacts between axons and fibroblasts are occasionally observed. It is unclear whether the parallel orientation of nerve endings and fibroblast extensions have any biological significance.