ELECTRON MICROSCOPIC OBSERVATIONS OF THE OLFACTORY MUCOSA AND OLFACTORY NERVE

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Abstract
The olfactory mucosa and olfactory nerve of the rabbit were investigated with the electron microscope. The olfactory receptor cell is characterized by a distal process (the dendrite) which terminates in the olfactory passage as the olfactory rod. The olfactory rod is provided with numerous cilia which are similar in structure to those in other tissues. The central processes of the bipolar cell constitute the fila olfactoria. Despite the physiological heterogeneity of the olfactory receptors, no fine structure differences were observed in receptor cells in different parts of the mucosa. The cytoplasmic organelles of the sustentacular cell of the mucosa are concentrated at the basal and apical ends of the cell with a paucity of cytoplasmic elements in the region of the nucleus. The plasma membrane of the supporting cell forms mesaxons for both the dendrite and axon of the bipolar cell. The olfactory rod is not ensheathed. The axons constituting the fila olfactoria form fascicles which are ensheathed by mesaxons of adjacent Schwann cells. Thus the olfactory neurons are ensheathed throughout their central course by membranes of sustentacular and Schwann cells.

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