A Golgi Silver Study on the Development of Pyramidal and Stellate Cells of the Human Cortex

Silver impregnation studies of neurons in the developing human nervous system had attracted only a fair amount of studies due to the difficulty of the technique. This report is concerned with studying the morphogenesis of pyramidal and stellate cells during development in different regions of the cortex. No silver-impregnated cells were present before 21 weeks of gestation in most cortices except for the frontal cortex. Between 21 and 25 weeks, pyramidal cells were clearly demonstrated. By 27 weeks of gestation and thereafter, secondary branching was observed in these cells. Two types of stellate cells were identified at week 30 and thereafter. A difference in the degree of differentiation was also recorded between different cortical regions during development.