Ultrastructure of the chick vestibular ganglion and vestibular nucleus. A scanning electron microscopic study.

The fine structure of the chick vestibular ganglion and vestibular nucleus was studied in three dimensions using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). NaOH and OSO4 maceration methods were applied to observe the configuration in the mechanically torn specimens. Also, Tanaka's aldehyde prefix OSO4-DMSO-OSO4 method (A-O-D-O method) was applied to observe the intracellular structure in the fractured specimens. The surface of the ganglion cell and the nerve processes were seen to be covered with abundant thin fibrous tissues in the specimen treated with OSO4 maceration. This surface fibrous tissue was completely removed with the NaOH maceration method. As a result, the ganglion cell and nerve processes could be seen to be enveloped in the myelin sheath. In the fractured vestibular ganglion treated by the A-O-D-O method, there were three patterns of perikaryal myelination in the vestibular ganglion cells: heavily myelinated, lightly myelinated, and unmyelinated, respectively. In the perinuclear region of the vestibular ganglion cell, well developed and aggregated cytoplasmic organelles such as endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and Golgi apparati were observed. In the perinuclear region of the Schwann cell relatively large mitochondria were characteristically observed. In the fractured view of the vestibular nerves, most of vestibular fibers were compactly myelinated. In the vestibular nucleus, the gathering of the neuronal cells were observed with the NaOH maceration method.