Beading Phenomena of Mammalian Myelinated Nerve Fibers.

Fresh mammalian nerve, when subjected to a small stretch, shows a beading phenomenon. The larger fibers appear as a series of dilations and constrictions at intervals of 40 to 75 micro. Upon relaxation this beading is gone within a minute. The beading is not produced by the special technique of freeze-substitution used to show the phenomenon.