Abstract
Synapses. The term “synapse,” based on the Greek word to clasp, was introduced by Sir Charles Sherrington as early as in 1897 [11]. Despite this early definition of specialized contacts between nerve cells by a physiologist, there was a long-lasting debate among morphologists as to the existence of such contacts. The reticular theory, as proposed for instance by Camillo Golgi [11], described the nervous system as a continuous network of nerve fibers, a “syncytium,” rather than a discontinuous arrangement of cells that establish contacts with each other via their long processes. It was the Spanish neuroanatomist Ramón y Cajal [37] who, by using Golgi’s silver impregnation method, provided strong morphological evidence for contiguity rather than continuity.
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Frotscher, M. (1996). Synaptic Transmission. In: Greger, R., Windhorst, U. (eds) Comprehensive Human Physiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-60946-6_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-60946-6_17
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