Ligamentum nuchae fiber structure

The form in which elastin is laid down varies considerably in the different types of elastic tissue. Membranes with a very high elastin content are found in the walls of the larger arteries, in some parts of the heart, and in the trachea and bronchi. In the larger arteries the structural units of the elastic tissue formation are concentric lamellae which are often of rather variable thickness and always contain many irregular openings. In the ligamentum nuchae of some animals, particularly the ox, the structure is quite different and thick longitudinal elastic fibers, of almost circular cross section, form most of the tissue. 

Fig. 2. Electron micrograph showing the fibrillar structure of an elastic fiber from bovine ligamentum nuchae. (Gotte and Serafini-Fracassini, 1962.) The elastin fibers were treated with dilute sodium hydroxide at 98°C for 1 hr, washed with hot water, and disintegrated ultrasonically at 40 kc. The magnification is 63,000X and the individual fibrils are 10 2 The specimen was shadowed with chromium at 20 degrees.

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