ABSTRACT
After autologous transplantation of sciatic nerve segments into the retinae of adult golden hamsters for 1-4 months, anterograde and retrograde labelling with horseradish peroxidase demonstrated that ganglion cell axons have regrown into the peripheral nerve graft for a distance up to 2 cm. The regenerating axons into the grafts were distributed within fan-or beltshaped areas between the sites of grafting and the limbus of the retina, their numbers being greater for grafts near the optic disc than for those in the outer portions of the retina. Histogram of cell soma areas of labelled neurons from retinae with grafts indicated that all normal cell sizes were represented and there was a substantial population of enlarged neurons. Retrograde labelling with fluorescent dyes, Nuclear Yellow, applied to the optic tract and True Blue to the graft, demonstrated that the regenerating axons originated from axotomized ganglion cells rather than by axonal collateral sprouting of undamaged neurons.