Size and distribution of ganglion cells in the bovine retina

Three human retinae have been evaluated for size and distribution of ganglion cells from a study of whole-mount Nissl preparations. With the aid of a data processing program a number of statistical data on the distribution of cell sizes has been attained. The parafoveal region is occupied by small cells. The mean cell diameter increases up to 30° to 40° from the fovea and then decreases further into the periphery. Histograms show homogeneous cell sizes in central retina, but greater variations towards peripheral retina. As all histograms are of a unimodal shape, differentiation of cell groups is difficult. However, the majority of ganglion cells belong to the small to medium-sized cell class, while large cells, practically absent from parafoveal retina, are almost evenly distributed in peripheral retina.