Figure 1. Anesthesia causes long-lasting ultrastructural changes in mitochondria in subiculi of 21-day-old rats.
A, C) The pyramidal neuron (A) and neuropil (C; synaptic contacts are noted with arrows) in a subiculum from a control rat show abundant small mitochondria with no evidence of swelling or injury. B, D) Mitochondria in the perikarion of a pyramidal neuron (B) and nerve terminals in a neuropil (D) of subiculum from experimental rats display structural disorganization of cristae (asterisks), as well as dilated intracristal spaces with vacuoles and overall swelling. Note the presence of dark, condensed mitochondria in late stages of degeneration (arrows) (magnification 12,000×). N - nucleus.