Histochemical demonstration of zinc in the hippocampal region of the domestic pig: II. Subiculum and hippocampus

Abstract

The distribution of zinc has been described in two areas of the hippocampal region of the domestic pig, viz., the subiculum and the hippocampus. Zinc was demonstrated histochemically according to the Neo-Timm method, a modification of the sulphide-silver procedure. In each of the examined areas the staining displayed a distinctly stratified pattern which has been compared in detail to fields and layers defined on the basis of cyto- and fibroarchitecture, resulting in a combined chemo- and cytoarchitectonic map. Most of the staining was confined to the neuropil, but a considerable number of stained nerve cell bodies were seen in both the subiculum and the hippocampus. In the subiculum, the plexiform layer was divided into a superficial, weakly stained subzone and a deep, better stained subzone. The cell layer was generally well stained, but displayed a complex staining pattern with differences in staining intensity of both the cell bodies and neuropil. In regio superior of the hippocampus, the stratum moleculare appeared weakly stained, with the exception of a tapering process of more darkly stained tissue projecting from the plexiform layer of the subiculum into the deepest part of the layer. Stratum radiatum and the superficial subzone of stratum oriens showed a weak staining intensity, contrasting to the relatively darkly stained pyramidal cell layer and the intensely stained deep subzone of stratum oriens. In regio inferior, the stratum moleculare was divided into a moderately stained superficial part and an unstained deep part. Stratum radiatum and stratum oriens both appeared weakly stained. The layer of mossy fibers was very intensely stained and appeared almost homogeneously black in its main suprapyramidal part, whereas the infrapyramidal part was looser in character. The pyramidal cell layer was darker than in regio superior. The distribution of zinc in the pig was compared with that in the guinea pig and rat, described previously. The staining pattern is fundamentally similar in all three species, though notable species-specific traits do exist.