The finestructure of nerve branches and neuromuscular junctions in the coxal adductor of the cockroach, Gromphadorhina portentosa

The neuromuscular junctions of a fast coxal adductor of Gromphadorhina portentosa show great variability in both axon terminal diameter and extent of post-junctional sarcoplasmic specializaton. Finestructural equivalents of both cone and brush type nerve endings are present. The large motor axons innervating this muscle are surrounded by a pervasive lemnoblast sheath, leaving the axon surface exposed only in the area of synaptic contact. Connective tissue covers the nerve and fills the spaces between sheath cell processes in the nerve trunk, but is lost after it enters the muscle. The role of sheath cells in nerve function is discussed in the light of these findings.