Peripheral Nerve, c.s. 40X
 
Most peripheral nerves that you will see on slides in lab contain more than one bundle of nerve processes, or fascicle (fas). If there is connective tissue visible between two bundles of fibers in a slide you are studying, then they are separate fascicles.







Peripheral Nerve, c.s. 100X
 
The connective tissue that separates fascicles (fas) in peripheral nerves is called the perineurium. In this image it is labeled with an asterisk (*). The smaller circles you see insice the fascicles are individual nerve processes.







Peripheral Nerve, c.s. 400X
 
The perineurium is still labeled with an asterisk (*). The arrow points to a cross section of an individual nerve fiber. Each nerve process is surrounded by a later of connective tissue called the endoneurium, which looks like a dark purple line around each process in this nerve. Some of the dark spots you see between the nerve processes are the nuclei of Schwann cells.



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