Classification of neurons in the ectosylvian auditory cortex of the dog

The rapid Golgi method was used to classify the neurons in the MES and PES auditory areas of the dog. Small pyramids were found in layer II with percentages of 12% in the MES area and 8.1% in the PES area. Medium sized pyramids possessed a bimodal distribution, the first in layer IV and the second in V, with 58% in MES and 62% in PES. Large pyramids were found in layer V with a proportion of 12.5% in MES and 17% in PES. The star neurons were found in layer III with proportions of 5.9% in MES and 4.0% in PES. The double bouquet neurons in layer III had a proportion of 1.5% in MES and 1.7% in PES. Fusiform neurons in layers V and VI were in proportions of 2.2% in MES and 6.4% in PES. The principal finding was a special auditory cell occurring in layers V and VI of the MES area with a proportion of 8% and from 14.8 to 34.8% in the strata between 1 and 2 mm. Less than 1% of neurons in the PES area were identified as special cells. Its appearance was an inverted pyramidal cell with a large dendrite extending toward the white matter from which the axon arose.