The basal dendrites of Meynert cells in the striate cortex of the monkey

A study has been made of the basal dendrites of Meynert cells in the striate cortex of the macaque monkey in sections parallel to the pial surface impregnated by the Golgi technique. The longest basal dendrite observed extended up to 0.6 mm and the average length of the longest dendrite on each cell was about 0.28 mm. In general, the dendritic field was in the form of an ellipse with mean major and minor axes of 0.22 mm and 0.11 mm respectively, and encompassing an area of about 0.13 mm2. The directions of the major axes were perpendicular to the lunate sulcus in the sections adjacent to the lunate sulcus, and parallel to the horizontal meridian in sections taken from the region of the representation of the meridian, suggesting that the basal dendritic fields are orientated in parallel with the directions of the ocular dominance bands.