|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
| Home Help Feedback Subscriptions Archive Search Table of Contents | ||||
|
Fig. 1. Peripheral nerve anatomy. Perineurial cells form a sheath around the nerve
(the perineurium; purple) that separates the endoneurial environment from the
epineurial environment (outside the nerve bundle). Within the endoneurium,
there are Schwann cells that myelinate axons (S; green cells surrounding
yellow axons), non-myelinating Schwann cells that are associated with multiple
axons (N; blue cells), endoneurial fibroblasts (F; pink cells), and pericytes
(P; red) that surround small blood vessels. A single layer of endothelial
cells also surrounds the blood vessels (not shown). Perineurial cells are
distinguished based on their position and their characteristic flattened
morphology. Pericytes are distinguished by their expression of SMA. Schwann
cells are distinguished by their association with axons, their expression of
glial markers such as S100ß, and their basal lamina. Endoneurial
fibroblasts lack a basal lamina, often have long interdigitating processes,
are not associated with axons, and fail to express SMA or S100ß in
vivo.
|
