T. Clark Brelje, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota
Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development
6-160 Jackson Hall
321 Church St SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Robert L. Sorenson, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota
Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development
6-160 Jackson Hall
321 Church St SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Each slide is shown with additional information to its right. The image can be changed using any combination of the following commands.
Sidebar
Click on links to move to a specific region.
Click on images to show that view.
Use the toolbar to change the magnification and pan the displayed image.
Mouse
Click to zoom-in
Double-click to zoom-out
Alt-click to zoom-out
Alt-double-click to zoom-out to the entire slide
Drag the image to pan
Keyboard
Shift or ‘A’ key to zoom-in
Ctrl or ‘Z’ Key to zoom-out
Arrow Keys to pan across the image
ESC key to zoom-out to the entire slide
Touch
Tap to zoom-in
Double-tap to zoom-out
Alt-tap to zoom-out to the entire slide
Drag the image to pan
UCSF 163 Spinal Cord
Spinal Cord
Cross section of the spinal cord stained with cresyl violet. Cresyl violet is a basic dye that binds nucleic acids (DNA and RNA).
In cross-section, the spinal cord is divided into the butterfly-shaped grey matter and surrounding white matter. Nuclei of all cells and the Nissl (chromophil) substance in neurons is stained.
Gray Matter - butterfly-shaped region that contains nerve cell bodies and supporting glial cells. Synapses only occur in gray matter.
Dorsal Horns (left, right) - upper parts of the wings that receive sensory input from peripheral neurons.
Ventral Horns (left, right) - lower parts of the wings that contain the cell bodies of motor neurons that give rise to the motor portion of peripheral nerves.
White Matter - contains ascending and descending axons (bundled into tracts) and supporting glial cells.
Central Canal - small, round structure in the center of the spinal cord that contains cerebral spinal fluid. Lined with a simple cuboidal-to-columnar epithelium of ependymal cells.
Motor Neurons
Cross section of the spinal cord stained with cresyl violet. Cresyl violet is a basic dye that binds nucleic acids (DNA and RNA).
Motor Neuron - large cell bodies in the ventral horn that can be more than 100 µm in diameter (innervate striated muscle).
Nucleus - large with a prominent nucleolus
Nissl (Chromphil) Substance - basophilic material in nerve cell bodies and dendrites (left). The result of a large amount of RNA in rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) and free polyribosomes.
Axon (right) - a single, large process that emerges from the nerve cell bodies at the axon hillock (right). Note that the axon hillock does not contain Nissl substance.
Dendrites (left) - multiple processes extending from the nerve cell bodies that contain Nissl substance
Glial Cells - the small nuclei found around the motor neurons are mostly glial cells.
