Development of Ganglion Cells in Normal Infants and Children and Diagnosis of HD Allied Diseases

Histologic study was carried out on the enteric plexus in the rectum and colon of 20 cadavars of prematures,newborns,infants and young children with results as follows:(1) Morphologically,ganglion cells were divided into two types.Type Ⅰ refers to morphological maturity of the ganglion cells while Type Ⅱ to immaturity.(2) In newborns,the ganglion cells of the enteric plexuses in the rectum have not reached full morphological maturity yet,as it takes place gradually.(3) Mophological maturity of the ganglion cells in the colon is earler than that of those in the rectum.Their full maturation in a cephalocaudal process takes place gradually.(4) In the enteric plexuses of the rectum and colon,the diameter of ganglion cells in the myenteric plexus is usually greater than that of those in deep submucous plexuses,whose diameter is usually greater than those in the superficial submucous plexus.(5) It is not appropriate to assess the number of ganglion cells per plexus at different ages and different sites of the bowel by a unified standard.(6)The orphology,number and size of ganglion cells per plexus in the rectum,colon and bowel were investigated,which may serve as references in diagnosing HD related diseases.