title: Regional differences in the number and type of myenteric neurons in the descending colon of rats.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to analyze the neuronal density of the myenteric plexus of the intermediate and antimesocolic regions of the descending colon of rats. Whole-mounts were stained with three different techniques of neuronal evidenciation. Through counts of the number of neurons in an area of 6.64 mm under light microscopy, we found 1,271 +/- 227.54 neurons with Giemsa in the intermediate region and 1,234 +/- 225.92 neurons in the antimesocolic region; with the NADH-diaphorase technique we found 530 +/- 92.97 neurons in the intermediate region and 539 +/- 146.72 neurons in the antimesocolic region; and through the NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry, we found 417 +/- 34.42 neurons in the intermediate region and 547 +/- 84.01 neurons in the antimesocolic region. We conclude that there is a variation in the density of NADPH-diaphorase positive neurons in the intestinal circumference; that the NADH-diaphorase positive neuronal subpopulation represented 42.7% of that stained with Giemsa; and that the NADPH-diaphorase positive neurons represented 37.8% of the whole myenteric population.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Paranaense(UNIPAR), Umuarama, PR, Brasil.
authors.forename: Eduardo José de Almeida
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Araújo
authors.forename: Débora de Mello Gonçales
authors.initials: Dde M
authors.lastname: Sant'Ana
authors.forename: Sônia Lucy
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Molinari
authors.forename: Marcílio Hubner
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: de Miranda Neto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D003106:Colon / Q000201:enzymology / Q000294:innervation*; D008297:Male; D009197:Myenteric Plexus / Q000166:cytology* / Q000201:enzymology; D009245:NADH Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000201:enzymology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase; D009245:NADH Dehydrogenase