Cytoarchitecture

Cytoarchitecture (from Greek κύτος 'cell' and ἀρχιτεκτονική 'architecture'), also known as cytoarchitectonics, is the study of the cellular composition of the central nervous system's tissues under the microscope.

The study of the parcellation of nerve fibers (primarily axons) into layers forms the subject of myeloarchitectonics (from Greek μυελός 'marrow' and ἀρχιτεκτονική 'architecture'), an approach complementary to cytoarchitectonics.

[2] It is credited to the Viennese psychiatrist Theodor Meynert (1833–1892), who in 1867 noticed regional variations in the histological structure of different parts of the gray matter in the cerebral hemispheres.

[9] Constantin von Economo and Georg N. Koskinas, two neurologists in Vienna, produced a landmark work in brain research by defining 107 cortical areas on the basis of cytoarchitectonic criteria.

These dyes intensely stain "Nissl bodies" (rough endoplasmic reticulum), which are abundant in neurons and reveal specific patterns of cytoarchitecture in the brain.