Nerve ganglion. Light micrograph of a section through a cluster of neuron cell bodies (round) within a sympathetic (autonomic) ganglion. One of the ganglion's nerve fibres (lower left) is passing through connective tissue (stained blue). This may be either an afferent or efferent nerve supplying a target organ. Individual cell bodies have a pink-red staining cytoplasm. Sympathetic ganglia lie outside the central nervous system and may be found in the sympathetic trunk and associated with the aorta. These ganglia conduct nerve impulses to tissues such as smooth muscle and to the viscera. Magnification: x100 when printed at 10 centimetres across.