First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics
Pyramidal Cell
High resolution image of a pyramidal cell. The pyramid shaped soma is marked by the large diameter of the apical dendrite with branches at various levels as it extends from the soma toward the pia. Basal dendrites emerge from the soma. Note that the smaller dendrites have few bifurcations and are covered with spines. Each spine is the site of a single synapse. Afferent connections to the cerebral cortex reach specific layers in order to input to a region of the pyramidal cell dendrite as it passes through each of the layers.