Retinogeniculate projection fibers in the monkey optic nerve: a demonstration of the fiber pathways by retrograde axonal transport of WGA-HRP.

Seven Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata) were used to investigate the fiber pathways of the optic nerve. Optic nerve fibers and retinal ganglion cells were retrogradely labeled by iontophoretic injections of wheat germ agglutinin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) into electrophysiologically defined positions of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). By gross anatomical observation, the optic nerve usually had one distinct bend, which flexed dorsally 3-4 mm from the eyeball, and occasionally another ventrally directed bend was found just behind the eyeball. In the optic nerve head, fibers from the various retinal areas were arranged in a wedge according to the fiber trajectory on the retinal surface. For about a 3 mm distance from the disc, fibers rapidly spread out radially. Subsequently, rather than scattering dorsoventrally, they progressed to the chiasm with a gradual increase in the degree of mediolateral (nasotemporal) scatter. The degree of the scatter was different depending on the retinal site from which the axons originated. Fibers from the peripheral retina spread out widely for a few millimeters behind the eyeball. Thereafter the scatter was rather limited until the chiasm. On the other hand, the scatter of fibers from the foveal and parafoveal areas progressed gradually through the nerve. The present study also suggests that the difference in scatter depends on the types of cells of origin. Fibers from large ganglion cells displayed more extensive scatter than fibers from medium-sized cells. In spite of the extensive scatter of fibers, two clear segregations were found; one was a dorsoventral segregation, which was displayed by both central and peripheral retinal fibers, and the other was a center-peripheral segregation in which the fibers from the nasal central (papillomacular) retina were located almost exclusively in the central part of the optic nerve surrounded by peripheral retinal fibers. However, the temporal central retinal fibers were located in the lateral periphery of the nerve, and they overlapped significantly with fibers from the temporal peripheral retina. Furthermore, a broad intermingling was found between nasal and temporal peripheral retinal fibers owing to their mediolateral scatter. Thus, the present findings based on more precise anatomical techniques indicate that the classical notion of the retinal quadrant topography in the monkey optic nerve probably is suspect. In addition, the "rotation" of the fiber arrangement was not demonstrated.