Cat retinal ganglion cell dendritic fields

Retinal ganglion cells of the cat were stained by the techniques of Golgi (silver) and Ehrlich (in vivo methylene blue). These neurohistological techniques presumably stain a few nerve cells completely, and hence allowed the study of the form of the dendritic expansion of the cat ganglion cells. The dendritic expansions of all the cells studied ended in one plane within the inner plexiform layer; no multistratified types of cells were seen. The dendritic fields were more or less circular with the cell bodies placed centrally. The size distribution of the dendritic fields was bimodal. Sizes between 70 and 200 μ and from 400 to 700 μ were found. It is suggested that for the cat retinal ganglion cells the size of the dendritic field is related to the size of the center region of the corresponding (physiologically determined) concentric receptive field.