Myelin incisures (also known as Schmidt-Lanterman clefts, Schmidt-Lanterman incisures, clefts of Schmidt-Lanterman, segments of Lanterman, medullary segments), are small pockets of

cytoplasm In cell biology, the cytoplasm is all of the material within a eukaryotic cell, enclosed by the cell membrane, except for the cell nucleus. The material inside the nucleus and contained within the nuclear membrane is termed the nucleoplasm. ...

left behind during the

Schwann cell Schwann cells or neurolemmocytes (named after German physiologist Theodor Schwann) are the principal glia of the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Glial cells function to support neurons and in the PNS, also include satellite cells, olfactory en ...

myelination process. They are

histological Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures vis ...

evidence of the small amount of cytoplasm that remains in the inner layer of the myelin sheath created by

s wrapping tightly around an

axon An axon (from Greek ἄξων ''áxōn'', axis), or nerve fiber (or nerve fibre: see spelling differences), is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, in vertebrates, that typically conducts electrical impulses known as action p ...

(nerve fiber).

Development

In the

peripheral nervous system The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is one of two components that make up the nervous system of bilateral animals, with the other part being the central nervous system (CNS). The PNS consists of nerves and ganglia, which lie outside the brai ...

(PNS)

axons An axon (from Greek ἄξων ''áxōn'', axis), or nerve fiber (or nerve fibre: see spelling differences), is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, in vertebrates, that typically conducts electrical impulses known as action p ...

can be either myelinated or unmyelinated. Myelination refers to the insulation of an axon with concentric surrounding layers of

lipid Lipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids in ...

membrane (

myelin Myelin is a lipid-rich material that surrounds nerve cell axons (the nervous system's "wires") to insulate them and increase the rate at which electrical impulses (called action potentials) are passed along the axon. The myelinated axon can ...

) produced by

Schwann cells Schwann cells or neurolemmocytes (named after German physiologist Theodor Schwann) are the principal glia of the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Glial cells function to support neurons and in the PNS, also include satellite cells, olfactory en ...

. These layers are generally uniform and continuous, but due to imperfect nature of the process by which

wrap the nerve axon, this wrapping process can sometimes leave behind small pockets of residual

displaced to the periphery during the formation of the myelin sheath. These pockets, or "incisures", can subdivide the myelinated axon into irregular portions. These staggered clefts also provide communication channels between layers by connecting the outer collar of cytoplasm of the Schwann cell to the deepest layer of myelin sheath. Primary incisures appear ''ab initio'' in myelination and always extend across the whole radial thickness of the myelin sheath but initially around only part of its circumference. Secondary incisures appear later, in regions of a compact myelin sheath, initially traversing only part of its radial thickness but commonly occupying its whole circumference.Small, J. R., Ghabriel, M. N., & Allt, G. (1987). The development of Schmidt-Lanterman incisures: an electron microscope study. Journal of Anatomy, 150, 277–286.

References

External links

* Neurohistology {{neuroscience-stub