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Updated: Jun 8, 2026

The Olfactory System as a Model to Study Axonal Growth Patterns and Morphology In Vivo
Published on: October 30, 2014
The first images of nerve cells: Golgi on the olfactory bulb 1875
Gordon M Shepherd1, Charles A Greer, Paolo Mazzarello
1Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06510, USA. gordon.shepherd@yale.edu
Abstract:
The third paper by Camillo Golgi on his new method was on the olfactory bulb. This paper has never been translated into English, but is of special interest both for its pioneering description of olfactory bulb cells and for containing the first illustration by Golgi of cells stained with his new method. A translation into English is provided in this paper, together with commentaries on the significant points in his descriptions. These results are placed in the perspective of Cajal's subsequent first publication on the olfactory bulb and brief mention of the work of other early histologists. This perspective allows one to see more clearly Golgi's fundamental contributions to the olfactory bulb in particular and to the description of the neuronal architecture of the brain in general.
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