Peripheral
nerve - penis (40x objective lens)
-
This image shows a
peripheral nerve consisting of a single fascicle,
surrounded by a thick collagenous perineurium.
The cell nuclei that can be seen within the nerves belong primarily to Schwann
cells. An arteriole with flattened endothelial
cell nuclei is present within the epineurium on the left side.
The nerve fibers appear
as a dark dot surrounded by a circular clear area, marking the location of
the myelin sheath. The dark line on the outside of the myelin sheath is formed
by a Schwann cell itself, which forms an outer collar of membrane-bound cytoplasm.
Sometimes this line is referred to as the neurilemma, but this term more accurately
describes the plasma membrane which is to thin to be resolved with the light
microscope. The spaces between the myelinated nerve fibers are shrinkage artifacts,
but they mark the location of the endoneurium,
the thin connective tissue layer that surrounds each myelinated fiber.
- Stain = H&E
Copyright
Paul B. Bell, Jr. & Barbara Safiejko-Mroczka
The
University of Oklahoma
Version 010603