Neuron Gigantopyramidal

The gigantopyramidal neuron (n. gigantopyramidale, lnh) is a large pyramidal neuron located primarily in layer V of the motor cortex. Refers to projection neurons. It has a long apical dendrite directed towards the surface of the cortex and short basal dendrites. The axon arises from the base of the apical dendrite and travels to the underlying parts of the nervous system.

Gigantopyramidal neurons play an important role in transmitting impulses from the cortex to other structures of the brain and spinal cord. Their large size ensures high conductivity and allows them to generate powerful signals to trigger movements and other processes.

Gigantopyramidal neurons are also called Betz cells after the Czech neurologist Vladimir Betz, who first described them in 1874.

G.'s neurons are widely distributed in the brain and spinal cord, in the sacral segments of the spinal cord and in the brain stem. In the cerebral cortex, there are 2 types of arrangement of the nuclei of the G.p.n. in relation to the convolutions: pyramidal layer and neocircular. They are excitatory elements of the central nervous system. The cells are straight in shape, 60 - 40 microns, processes reach a length of up to 1 m or more, form anastomoses in various places of the brain and around large vessels, supplying blood to neighboring neurons. Axons emerge from the hypothalamus as part of the medial parts of the posterior medullary velum. This name contains the idea that the cells are quite large in size, their pyramidal body is noticeably larger than the cell, but they are also called Betz cells, gigantomacropidimal cells. Once upon a time, these huge cells were called neurons, based on microscopic images.