Morphometric evaluation of first sacral ganglia of man

The volume, number, and frequency distribution of diameters of cytons (cell bodies) of the first sacral ganglion from 20 persons of different ages have been estimated by semiautomatic methods of measurement and programmed calculation and plotting. The volume of the ganglion increases from infancy through childhood and probably attains adult values (mean ± SD, 189.8 ± 40.9 mm³) towards the end of the first decade of life. The number of cytons per ganglion in children (3, 4 and 5 years old) was within the adult range; a 7-month-old infant had the lowest number of cytons per ganglion. The regression line of number of cytons on age did not indicate decreasing number with age, although it may be significant that the two highest numbers were found in the ganglia of persons 3 and 12 years old. The frequency distribution of the diameters of cytons was unimodal in the 7-month-old infant (diameters ranged from 14 to 58 μm); the distribution was more complex in adults, with an initial peak at approximately 35 to 40 μm and a superimposed hump at larger diameter categories (diameters ranged from 15 to 110 μm).