Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Anatomy logoLink to Journal of Anatomy
. 1984 May;138(Pt 3):423–433.

Internodal length in ventral roots of bovine spinal nerves varies independently of fibre calibre.

H J Tuczinski, R L Friede
PMCID: PMC1164327  PMID: 6735905

Abstract

The length of internodes in bovine ventral spinal nerve root fibres varies in an irregular pattern along the spinal cord with short internodes for the cervicothoracic and lumbosacral segments, and long internodes for the high cervical, thoracic and sacral segments. This pattern of variation is independent of axon calibre, which is fairly constant between roots. The data show that internode length and fibre calibre vary independently of each other, resulting in internodes of different proportions (length/diameter quotient) for different roots. Maximum internode length was determined at approximately 2400 microns; the longest internode found measured 2847 microns. The segmental variance in ventral root internode length in the cow differs from that in man or rat, which show a craniocaudal increase in internode length. These species-dependent differences relate to differences in the degree of the 'developmental ascensus' of the spinal cord.

Full text

PDF
432

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Boycott A. E. On the number of nodes of Ranvier in different stages of the growth of nerve fibres in the frog. J Physiol. 1903 Dec 14;30(3-4):370–380. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1903.sp001001. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Chopra J. S., Hurwitz L. J. Internodal length of sural nerve fibres in chronic occlusive vascular disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1967 Jun;30(3):207–214. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.30.3.207. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Friede R. L., Bischhausen R. The precise geometry of large internodes. J Neurol Sci. 1980 Dec;48(3):367–381. doi: 10.1016/0022-510x(80)90109-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Friede R. L., Meier T., Diem M. How is the exact length of an internode determined. J Neurol Sci. 1981 May;50(2):217–228. doi: 10.1016/0022-510x(81)90168-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Friede R. L. Variance in relative internode length (l/d) in the rat and its presumed significance for the safety factor and neuropathy. J Neurol Sci. 1983 Jul;60(1):89–104. doi: 10.1016/0022-510x(83)90129-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Gruber H., Zenker W. Acetylcholinesterase: histochemical differentiation between motor and sensory nerve fibres. Brain Res. 1973 Mar 15;51:207–214. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(73)90373-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. HAGBARTH K. E., WOHLFART G. The number of muscle-spindles in certain muscles in cat in relation to the composition of the muscle nerves. Acta Anat (Basel) 1952;15(1-2):85–104. doi: 10.1159/000140738. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hanyu N., Oguchi K., Yanagisawa N., Tsukagoshi H. Degeneration and regeneration of ventral root motor fibers in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Morphometric studies of cervical ventral roots. J Neurol Sci. 1982 Jul;55(1):99–115. doi: 10.1016/0022-510x(82)90173-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kawamura Y., Dyck P. J., Shimono M., Okazaki H., Tateishi J., Doi H. Morphometric comparison of the vulnerability of peripheral motor and sensory neurons in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 1981 Nov;40(6):667–675. doi: 10.1097/00005072-198111000-00008. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Lascelles R. G., Thomas P. K. Changes due to age in internodal length in the sural nerve in man. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1966 Feb;29(1):40–44. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.29.1.40. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. McDonald W. I., Ohlrich G. D. Quantitative anatomical measurements on single isolated fibres from the cat spinal cord. J Anat. 1971 Nov;110(Pt 2):191–202. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Murray J. A., Blakemore W. F. The relationship between internodal length and fibre diameter in the spinal cord of the cat. J Neurol Sci. 1980 Feb;45(1):29–41. doi: 10.1016/s0022-510x(80)80004-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Schlaepfer W. W., Myers F. K. Relationship of myelin internode elongation and growth in the rat sural nerve. J Comp Neurol. 1973 Jan 15;147(2):255–266. doi: 10.1002/cne.901470207. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Sobue G., Matsuoka Y., Mukai E., Takayanagi T., Sobue I. Pathology of myelinated fibers in cervical and lumbar ventral spinal roots in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. J Neurol Sci. 1981 Jun;50(3):413–421. doi: 10.1016/0022-510x(81)90153-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. THOMAS P. K. Growth changes in the myelin sheath of peripheral nerve fibres in fishes. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1955 Mar 15;143(912):380–391. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1955.0018. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. THOMAS P. K., YOUNG J. Z. Internode lengths in the nerves of fishes. J Anat. 1949 Oct;83(4):336-50, pl. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. VIZOSO A. D. The relationship between internodal length and growth in human nerves. J Anat. 1950 Oct;84(4):342–353. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Vizoso A. D., Young J. Z. Internode length and fibre diameter in developing and regenerating nerves. J Anat. 1948 Apr;82(Pt 1-2):110–134.1. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Zenker W., Stelzig M., Sulzgruber S. C., Neumann A. Faseranalyse der vorderen und hinteren Rückenmarkswurzeln des Menschen auf Grund unterschiedlicher Acetylcholinesteraseaktivität. Acta Anat (Basel) 1979;103(3):319–326. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Anatomy are provided here courtesy of Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland

RESOURCES