Bovine normal peripheral nerve and nerve sheath tumour in explant culture.

When bovine normal nerve and nerve sheath tumours were cultured using explant techniques, the same morphological cell types were seen:thin bipolar cells with bulging nuclei;found refractile cells; large quadrangular cells; variable polar, wide-processed cells. However, differences in the pattern of cell growth and the proportions of morphological cell types occurred between normal and tumour nerve. The bovine nerve sheath tumours cultured showed a range of histological areas which did not appear to affect the pattern of cell growth in culture or the cell types present. Antoni type A tissue was prominent in many explant blocks and probably gave rise to most cell growth. On comparison with human schwannomas maintained in explant culture, bovine nerve sheath tumours appeared to have a similar range of morphological cell types. Although suggestions for the origin of human schwannomas have been made on the basis of cell morphology, it was felt that morphology alone did not allow speculation on the origin of cells present in bovine nerve sheath tumour explant cell growth.