Diencephalic and mesencephalic structures related to the optic nerve organization in tench (Tinca tinca L., 1758). A study using fluoro-gold.

Abstract

The location of several diencephalic and mesencephalic structures in the teleost fish, Tinca tinca, which have not been described previously, was made possible by injecting Fluoro-Gold, as an anterograde and retrograde tracer, into the optic nerve. In the pretectal area, we found the tractus opticus accessorius and the nucleus opticus dorsolateralis. We have made some specifications about the location and nomenclature of the branches belonging to the optic tracts and two nuclei also related to the visual system (the nucleus commissura posterior and the nucleus pretectalis periventricularis pars dorsalis). This study also presents the retinal projections to the optic tectum and the glial cells in the injected optic nerve of the tench. The laminar nucleus and Edinger-Westphal nucleus are also identified and described in relation to the ciliary pathway.