Muscle microprocesses and contacts between myotubes and axons in E15 intercostal muscle. Muscle microprocesses and contacts between myotubes and axons in E15 intercostal muscle. A, Three myotubes (seen in transverse section) extend microprocesses (arrows) that contact one or more of the other myotubes. All myotubes were identified by the presence of myofibrils (examples atarrowheads). B, A myotube is seen in contact with several large and small axonal profiles (arrows), some of which may be branches of the same axon. Most of the axon profiles are in close contact with the myotube membrane and four of them reside within depressions on either side of the myotube. A microprocess (arrowhead) extends from the myotube and is in close contact with two of the smaller axonal profiles. A putative Schwann cell extends a microprocess (small arrowheads) into one of the areas of contact between axons and the myotube. Scale bars, 0.5 μm. Chang-Sub Uhm et al. J. Neurosci. 2001;21:9678-9689 ©2001 by Society for Neuroscience