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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Combined Recording of Mechanically Stimulated Afferent Output and Nerve Terminal Labelling in Mouse Hair Follicle Lanceolate Endings
Published on: May 7, 2016
The filum terminale externum
R Shane Tubbs1, Randall Lee Murphy, David R Kelly
1Department of Cell Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama, USA. rstubbs@uab.edu
Object:
The filum terminale externum (FTE) is the extradural component of the filum terminale internum and little attention has been dedicated to this structure in the literature. The authors theorized that the rare intrasacral ependymomas may originate from ependymal cell collections within the FTE.
Methods:
To address this hypothesis, the FTE was dissected and analyzed histologically in 15 adult cadavers. None of the specimens was found to harbor ependymal or other glial cell collections.
Conclusions:
The authors found previously undescribed smooth-muscle cells within the FTE. Furthermore, histological analysis identified adipose, nerve, bone, and cartilage cells.
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