The Efferent System of Cranial Nerve Nuclei: A Comparative Neuromorphological Study

A new approach using comparative neuromorphology is taken in this study dealing with the organization of the efferent nuclei of cranial nerves. The authors use the cobalt labelling technique to identify neuron types and to follow their presence, or absence, in different animal species. They suggest a new classification which is free from a number of controversies inherent in the classical classifications. The results suggest that evolutionary changes in the centre and in the innervated periphery parallel each other with increasingly complex function.