Quantitative studies of superior cervical sympathetic ganglia in a variety of primates including man. II. Neuronal packing density

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Abstract
The volumes of a sample of primate superior cervical sympathetic ganglia were measured and related to body weight and to the number of ganglionic neurons. Estimates of volumes of the ganglia varied between 1.956 mm3 in squirrel monkey and 173.530 mm3 in a human specimen. Average cell densities for the ganglia ranged from 4,455 cells/mm3 in a human ganglion to 32,528 cells/mm3 in a squirrel monkey ganglion. Mean cell territories varied from 0.0000307 mm3 in a squirrel monkey ganglion to 0.0002245 mm3 in a human ganglion.Analysis of the data reveals striking trends of correlation between body size, volume of ganglia, and average cell territories. Since similar correlations have been described for other types of neuronal cell aggregates, it is suggested that for any given nucleus, ganglion or cortical area, the neuronal packing density varies as a function of body size.