Abstract
The nerve periphery in the human uterus was examined histologically by SUZUKI's improved silver method.
In the myometrium, abundantly distributed vegetative nerve elements form a network of irregular meshes, viz., praeterminal and terminal reticulum. The constituent nerve fibers are composed of protoplasmic strands containing neurofibrils and scattering nuclei of SCHWANN, and argyrophile granules and vacuoles. Along the course of these fibers, there are observed occasinal interstitial cells.
The mode of innervation of the smooth muscle cells of the intrinsic uterine muscle and blood vessels is classified as‘synapse per contiguitatem’, in which exist two types of its proximal pole of the synaps: 1. the latter consists of neuroplasm of the nerve fibers and directly contacts with the effector cells; 2. the interstitial cells are situated intermediately between the nerve fibers and the effector cells so that the latters are indirectly connect with the nerve fibers.
In the endometrium, the terminal reticulum of the vegetative nerve periphery spreads out through the basement layer and partly enters the functional layer. The reticulum is observed sometimes being in a close contact with the uterine glands or blood vessels in the propria. Along the endo-myometrial boundary, are very often found relatively large bundles of the un-mylinated nerve fibers.
