ISSN:
1432-0878
Keywords:
Median eminence
;
Tanycytes
;
Nerve tracts
;
Regional organization
;
Rat
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
Notes:
Summary The structural organization of the rostral, lateral and postinfundibular regions of the median eminence (ME) of 5-day cyclic diestrous rats was studied with light and electron microscopic methods. The ependymal cells lining (i) the floor of the infundibular recess (IR) at rostral levels, (ii) the lateral extensions of the IR, and (iii) the floor of the premammillary recess appear to represent the same type of tanycyte ependyma (β1 tanycytes). In the entire width of the rostral and postinfundibular palisade regions, as well as in the lateral palisade region of the preinfundibular ME, the processes of the β1 tanycytes form a continuous cuff. This cuff separates the nerve endings from the blood vessels and the pars tuberalis. At this level, synaptoid contacts between neurosecretory axons and the ependymal cuff can be observed. The ultrastructural characteristics of the β1 tanycytes are described and their ependymal endings tentatively classified into three types. In the lateral regions of the ME, the Golgi study revealed the presence of two fiber systems: (i) one possessing a latero-medial trajectory and distributed in the subependymal region; (ii) the other formed by a loose longitudinal tract originating from neurons of the arcuate nucleus. Some functional implications of the cellular organization of the rat ME are discussed.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00236998
Permalink
