Brain Histology - Neuron Your Way to Understanding It

Been praying for a way to understand CNS histology? Well, axon you shall recieve - here's a (hopefully) decent guide to identifying areas and cell types in the central nervous system. The central nervous system isn't just about neurons. There are meninges (the dura, the arachnoid and the pia). There are all the support cells - oligodendroyctes, astrocytes, microglia and ependymal cells. Each of these has a unique role to play in maintaining the brain as a functioning organ. They can be fiendishly difficult to tell apart on a histology slide - so this guide will help you with the main features to identify cell types in the brain.

[@DrCottes]

My medical school didn't even bother to show us histology of the nervous system, but as I commented before, histo really helps me understand the bigger picture. Thank you, again, for taking the time to make this video.

[@DownTheScopeMicroscopy]

It's a shame that undergraduates often aren't exposed to much histology sometimes. I wouldn't have considered pathology as a career without some foundation during the preclinical phase of study. Totally agree that it helps contextualise physiology and anatomy - and eventually pathology! If you have any topic requests, just feel free to ask :)

[@ELITECOMENTARISTA]

Thank you for the video! I feel like during my neurohystology classes most of the images ended up being schematic rather than actual slides so beyond being able to tell neurons and the laminae, the neuropil had always been just mystery stuff to me until now.

[@DownTheScopeMicroscopy]

Nice! That's great to hear. I remember drawing pictures of the different layers of the laminae and it's never been practically useful. I think with neurohistology, it's all about embracing the ambiguity - you won't be able to identify every nucleus with 100% certainty.