Horizontal cells of the turtle retina. I. Light microscopy of golgi preparations

Abstract

In Golgi preparations of turtle retina, four types of horizontal cells were observed and their morphological characteristics determined in vertical thick sections, whole mount preparations, and reconstructions from serial 1‐μm sections. H1 consists of a nucleated, stellate cell body (H1CB) and an irregular, tuberous axon terminal (H1AT) connected by a slender axon. Both parts of these cells make contact with receptor cells. H1CB's appear to correspond to “L2‐type cells” while H1AT's correspond to “L1‐type cells” described in the physiological literature. H2 and H3 are axonless stellate cells which are similar to one another in vertical profile and may occasionally appear similar in horizontal view. In general, the dendritic tree is more densely branched and the density of receptor cell contacts is higher for H2 than for H3. H2‐type cells may correspond to “R/G C‐type cells.” H4 is also an axonless stellate cell type which is smaller than H2 or H3 at equivalent retinal locations. The dendritic fields of H1CB's vary widely, but systematically, in size and shape over the retina. Their size is inversely related to receptor cell density, and the shape of the dendritic tree varies from roughly circular in the central area to elliptical in the periphery of the retina.