Electron microscopic investigations on the growing tip of nerve fibres in the developing distal forelimb of the mouse.

The distal course of the sensory nerve fibres on the palmar side of the hand of 12-day-old mouse embryos was followed by serial ultrathin cross-sections of conventionally fixed tissue. Small nerves fibres are to be found in the space between the layer of the cutaneous blood vessels and the epidermis. A special arrangement of the tissue which is traversed by the nerve fibres is not visible. In most cases the nerve fibres are in intimate contact with fibroblasts. More distally the nerve fibres consist only of one axon encircled by a Schwann cell. The sheath of the Schwann cell decreases gradually, and finally disappears completely. The distal tips of the naked axons are a few microns ahead. In some cases they are considerably enlarged and contain only a fine fuzzy material without special cell organelles. Other axons may end in a more finger-like fashion, and contain also in the naked parts many cell organelles. Also the naked axons contact fibroblasts over long ranges. Collagen was not found aligned to the distal nerve fibres.