Morphological Characteristics of the Stellate Ganglion in White Rats

The aim of the present work was to study the anatomical characteristics of the stellate ganglion (SG) and the morphometric properties of its neurons in rats of different age groups (neonatal and 10, 20, 30, 60, and 180 days) using anatomical and histological methods. The results identified three variants of the origins of branches from the medial border of the SG from the moment of birth. No differences between the right and left ganglia were seen. The size of the SG and its neurons increased during the first two months of life. The density of neurons on sections decreased from birth to age six months, while the number of neurons in the SG showed no significant change. Thus, the rat SG was formed by birth and the size and morphometric properties of its neurons finally stabilized at age two months.