Golgi studies of the nucleus gracilis in the rat

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Abstract
With the use of Golgi‐Kopsch and rapid Golgi techniques, seven different neuronal types were described in the nucleus gracilis of the rat. In the caudal part of the nucleus the dendrites were grouped in vertical bundles origented parallel to the collaterals of the fibers in the fasciculus gracilis. Some neurons had dendrites associated with several dendritic bundles separated in the horizontal or parasagittal planes. Two types of interneurons were found in the caudal part of the nucleus. The first had its axon confined within a dendritic column formed in part by its own dendritic arborization. The axon of the second interneuron projected to a nearby dendritic column. In the rostral part of the nucleus, the various neuronal types had dendrites oriented either transversely or along the axis of the nucleus. Fibers from the fasciculus gracilis, at rostral levels, bend to course across the nucleus sending collaterals along the parasagittal plane. Thus the dendrites of the neurons in this region were directed perpendicular and/or parallel to the afferent fibers. Afferent axons to the nucleus gracilis from the pyramidal tract and medullary reticular formation were also described.