[Ultrastructural studies of neurons and synapses in the visual system of amblyopic cats]

14 kittens of 2-4 weeks were randomly divided into normal (N) and monocular deprivation (MD) groups. PVEP was tested before and after monocular deprivation by blepharorrhaphy for 12 weeks, when development of amblyopia was confirmed. Under TEM, the central retinal ganglion cells, the ipsilateral geniculate nucleus layers, the neurons of layer IV of visual cortex area 17, and the neural synapses of MD and N eyes were examined to find that atrophic and degenerative changes to various degrees existed in the MD eyes, supporting the authors belief that the functional changes in amblyopia were based on subcellular pathology, and visual disorders after birth resulted in histopathological injuries to the visual system.