Immunocytochemistry of GABA in the antennal lobes of the sphinx moth Manduca sexta

Summary The ganglionated plexus of the trachea of mice was studied quantitatively with a histochemical method that stains electively the ganglion nerve cells in whole-mount preparations. The plexus lies exclusively over the muscular part of the trachea, dorsal to the muscle itself, and it varies considerably in pattern and extent between individual animals. In young adult mice the plexus contains on average 235 neurons, occurring singly or gathered in packed ganglia. The ganglion neurons are relatively small, the profile area of three quarters of them measuring between 150 and 275 m² with an average of 251 m². In ageing mice the average number of ganglion neurons is the same as in young animals; however, cell sizes are markedly increased, the average being 341 m². Among the ultrastructural features of the ganglia, is a capsule (perineurium) of very regular structure, the presence of collagen, capillaries and myelinated axons inside the ganglia, and the presence of only few and short dendrites, some of which are abutted by synapsing nerve endings.