ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a brief description of the structure, development and aging of the neuromuscular synapse, concentrating on the situation in man. It summarizes the changes that occur during denervation, reinnervation and blocking of transmission. Studying the histopathology of the neuromuscular synapse is fraught with technical problems. It is not easy to obtain a muscle biopsy that actually contains endplates without submitting the patient to an undue long skin incision. The motor endplate is one distinct area on a muscle fiber which is in contact with nerve terminals and a neuromuscular junction is one nerve terminal and the underlying part of the muscle fiber membrane. Synaptic basal lamina is a functionally highly specialized part of the extracellular matrix and has an important role in neuromuscular transmission, maintenance of the connection between nerve and muscle, and reinnervation. Reinnervation of former postsynaptic membranes occurs with high precision.
