The hypothalamic magnocellular system of the rhesus monkey: an immunocytochemical study.

The hypothalamic magnocellular system of the adult female rhesus monkey is studied here, using immunoperoxidase technique and antisera to estrogen stimulated neurophysin (ESN), nicotine stimulated neurophysin (NSN), oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (VP). These observations confirm and enlarge previous descriptions by others using Gomori techniques. It is apparent from this study that the magnocellular system spreads through a broader area than is generally accepted. A group of cells ventral to the head of the caudate nucleus and medial to the internal capsule is described. The general orientation of the nuclei and their tracts can only be appreciated when coronal, horizontal and sagittal sections are compared. Our observations suggest that the supraoptic nucleus is made up of a single group of cells that straddles the optic pathways, and is not divided in three segments, as it is generally described. It is also shown that the rostral extensions of the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei merge above the optic chiasm. Cells containing ESN/OT and NSN/VP are evenly dispersed in the paraventricular nucleus but a topographical arrangement is present in the supraoptic nucleus. The magnocellular nuclei project to the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis, zona externa of the median eminence and pars nervosa of the pituitary gland. Reactive fibers were also seen within islets of cells from the pars intermedia located inside the pars nervosa. A globular structure containing small blood vessels surrounded by positive fibers was noticed protruding into the floor of the third ventricle, at the level of the median eminence.