Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To obtain a systematic and detailed morphological classification of ganglion cells in the mouse retina. Methods: Adult C57BL/6N mice were anaesthetized with ether, decapitated and quickly enucleated. The front part of the eye was discarded and the retina carefully isolated from the pigment epithelium. The tungsten particles coated with a lipophilic dye (DiI) were propelled into the whole mount retinal preparation using a gene gun. Images of labeled ganglion cells were collected and analyzed. Results: Retinal ganglion cells were classified into three monostratified types according to their soma size and dendritic field size, and two bistratified types. Three types of monostratified cells were further divided into twelve subtypes based on the dendritic branching pattern and the stratification level. Conclusion: The ganglion cells in the mouse retina are strikingly similar to those in the rat retina. This study provides a reference for future studies on changes in the retina resulted from genetic manipulation.
Keywords: 415 ganglion cells • 557 retina: proximal(bipolar, amacrine, and ganglion cells)