Fig. 6.

Structural analysis of cardiac sympathetic postganglionic neurons in intact and T5X rats. Dendritic branching patterns of cardiac sympathetic postganglionic neurons in the stellate ganglia from five intact (sham operated) and five T5X rats were analyzed 28 days after spinal cord transection or sham transection, using the Sholl analysis of dendritic branching. A series of concentric rings calibrated at 10-μm intervals was superimposed on each neuron and centered on the cell body. The number of dendritic intersections within each concentric ring was counted, and the dendritic length was measured. The mean number of intersections per neuron at each point (with the exception of the tails) was significantly increased. *P < 0.05, intact vs. T5X.