Squid giant axon

Riesenaxone are the axons that occur in squid ( calamari ). They are typically 100 - to 1000 - times thicker than in mammals and reach a diameter of up to 1 mm. This enormous thickness of the axons is necessary for squid to allow rapid conduction, as they have in contrast to vertebrates no myelinated axons. Due to the larger Axonquerschnitt the longitudinal resistance ( internal resistance ) of the axon is low, so that the electrotonic current flow from excited to unexcited fiber area can be done faster.

The discovery of Riesenaxone led to major advances in the nerve cells research. Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, Sir John Carew Eccles and Andrew Fielding Huxley received the 1963 Nobel Prize for neuro- physiological work on Riesenaxonen of squid, which are particularly suitable because of their size for electrophysiological work.