Abstract
This electron microscopic study indicates that the rabbit optic nerve contains 394,000 ± 20,000 (p < 0.05) nerve fibres, of which at least 98% are myelinated. The fibre diameter spectrum of the nerve is unimodal and ranges from 0.25–7 μm with its peak at 0.75 μm. The projection of the visual streak fibres is not apparent in local diameter spectra near the optic nerve head. Integration of a ganglion cell density map of the retina from another rabbit indicates a total ganglion cell count lying between 455,000 and 547,000. The optic nerve fibre and ganglion cell counts are both substantially greater than the maximum fibre count previously reported.