A quantitative light microscopic study of the dendrites of cat spinal γ‐motoneurons after intracellular staining with horseradish peroxidase

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Abstract
By the use of intracellular staining with horseradish peroxidase (HRP), the dendric systems of spinal γ‐motoneurons of the adult cat were studied with a light microscope.The dendrites extended in various directions up to 1.5 mm from the cell body. The dendric branching was sparse and even unbranched dendrites were occasionally seen. The number and combined diameter of the first‐order dendrites increased in parallel with the mean cell body diamter.The number of dendric end branches, the combined dendritic length, the membrane surface area, and the volume of the entire dendrite correlated positively with the diameter of the parent first‐order dendrite.In comparison with the α‐motoneurons (Ulfhake and Kellerth, '81) the γ‐motoneurons had smaller values for mean cell body diameter and mean diameter of the first‐order dendrites and they also had a smaller number of first‐order dendrites. The dendrites of the γ‐motoneurons were also found to have fewer branching points and larger values for combined dendritic length. The relation between the diameter of the first‐order dendrite and the surface area of the entire dendrite was almost identical for the two types of motoneurons.