Morphological types of horizontal cell in the retina of the domestic cat

Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1978 Dec 18;203(1152):229-45. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1978.0103.

Abstract

Two morphologically distinct types of horizontal cell are described from Golgi-stained whole mounts of the cat retina. They are referred to as A-type and B-type cells. The two types differ in their dendritic branching pattern, their overall size and the absence or presence of an axon. At every retinal position the dendrites of B-type cells branch more densely and overlap each other more frequently than do the dendrites of A-type cells. At equivalent retinal positions the dendritic field size of A-type cells is greater than that of B-type cells by a factor of about 1.5. Only B-type cells have an axon, which branches at the end into a large axon terminal system. The axons have no preferred direction of orientation. The stain-ability of horizontal cells by different Golgi methods is discussed.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Axons / ultrastructure
  • Cats / anatomy & histology*
  • Dendrites / ultrastructure
  • Retina / cytology*
  • Staining and Labeling