Pyramidal tract of the cat: axon size and morphology

Summary

The purpose of this work was to determine the number and morphology of pyramidal tract (PT) axons in the cat, using electron microscopy, modern methods of fixation, and computer-assisted morphometric analysis. Sections taken at the level of the medullary pyramids in three animals were fixed and magnified up to 10,000 x to produce photomicrographs. Morphological data were entered into computer files for analysis by tracing axon perimeters on micrographs mounted on a digitizer tablet. The number of axons per PT averaged 415,000, of which 88% were myelinated and 12% were unmyelinated. 90% of the myelinated axons fell in the diameter range 0.5–4.5 μm. Axons larger than 9 μm diameter accounted for 1% of the total; the largest were 20–23 μm. Myelinated axon mean diameter was 1.98 μm; because of the skewed distribution, with many small axons and a few very large axons, median diameter was 1.60 μm. Size distribution was relatively uniform throughout the PT cross section, with all sizes represented in all regions. However, the more medial regions had a higher proportion of small fibers than the more lateral regions: mean medial diameter was 1.85 μm while mean lateral diameter was 2.09 μm. Myelin sheath thickness averaged 7.9% of fiber diameter for axons up to 11 μm, but was constant at 0.9 μm for larger fibers. Myelinated fibers were distorted from the circular shape in cross section, with a mean circularity index (or form factor) of 0.85, which implies that the fibers could swell about 15% without rupture of the cell membrane. Unmyelinated fibers averaged 0.18 μm diameter (range 0.05–0.6 μm); the largest unmyelinated axons were larger than the smallest myelinated axons. It is concluded that previous work greatly underestimated the number of axons in the cat pyramidal tract.