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On the fine structure of the nerve terminals in the human myocardium

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Summary

Electron microscope studies of axons, distributing singly or in small bundles in the human ventricular and atrial myocardium, indicate a few per-cent of the axon profiles to be significantly large in diameter (1.5–3.0 μ). They are characteristically packed with a profuse number of mitochondria along with large granular vesicles, glycogen rosettes, lysosomic bodies; and some of them terminate on a “specific terminal cell” (Knoche and Schmitt). These mitochondria-rich, large axons are assumed to be terminal portions of the cardiac afferents. About half of the axons encountered in the ventricle and 2/3 in the atrium are non-vesiculated, usually less than 0.5 μ. in diameter. The varicosities containing numerous vesicles are mostly 0.5–1.5 μ in diameter and are assumed to be terminal portions of the cardiac efferents. The ratio between the number of axon profiles containing small granular vesicles and that of axon profiles containing agranular vesicles without small granular vesicles is 2∶1 in the ventricular myocardium and 1∶1.7 in the atrial myocardium.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Chiba University School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan

    Tanemichi Chiba & Akio Yamauchi

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  1. Tanemichi Chiba
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  2. Akio Yamauchi
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We wish to express our thanks to Professor T. Nagano for his constructive criticism of this manuscript.

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Chiba, T., Yamauchi, A. On the fine structure of the nerve terminals in the human myocardium. Z. Zellforsch. 108, 324–338 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00336523

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