The preclimactic non-degenerate and climactic degenerate tail nerve cords of larvae of Rana temporaria have been examined by electron microscopy.
The nerve cord begins to degenerate at the tip of the tail; the recognizably severe area of necrosis remains relatively discrete and circumscribed as the tail progressively shortens.
Initially the nerve cord cells undergo autolysis, and acid phosphatase is active in the necrotic areas probably representing lysosomal intervention.
It is likely that disorganized and degraded nerve cord cells are phagocytosed by mesen-chymal macrophages.
Copyright © 1973 by Company of Biologists
1973
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