Total numbers of neurons in myenteric ganglia of the guinea-pig small intestine

Abstract

Two techniques that are thought to stain all of the neurons in the myenteric ganglia of the intestine are NADH diaphorase histochemistry and immunhistochemistry using a "nerve cell body" antiserum. However, this assumption has never been directly verified. In the present study myenteric ganglia of the guinea-pig ileum were prepared as whole-mounts and stained with either of these techniques. All nerve cells that could be identified in the whole-mounts were counted. The whole-mounts were then embedded flat in resin and serially sectioned at 1 μm. Nerve cells were identified and counted from the serial sections, and the data compared to those obtained from the whole-mounts. NADH diaphorase his..