Postnatal Morphogenesis of Purkinje Cells in the Rat Cerebellum

Abstract

Electron microscopic and histochemical methods were used to obtain a quantitative assessment of the development of organelles in Purkinje cells in the cerebellum of mongrel rats (n = 36) during the postnatal period of ontogeny (days 2, 7, 15, and 45). The nucleus:cytoplasm ratio decreased, while nucleolar area increased, the size and length of mitochondria increased, the quantity of membrane-bound ribosomes and the length of endoplasmic reticular channels increased, the number and sizes of lysosomes increased, and the relative area occupied by lysosomes on sections of the cytoplasm also increased.