This border is indicated by a marked change in the architecture of layer II. The rather homogeneous layer II of the caudal entorhinal area (CE) is not present in the medial entorhinal area (ME), where this layer generally is broken up into two or three clusters of cells. In ME, layer II is separated from layer III by a narrow, irregular cell sparse zone, and layer III is less regular than in CE. Quite often layer III of ME can be subdivided into an outer more densely packed zone, and an inner less dense zone. Layer V in both areas can be subdivided into sublayers, of which the superficial layer Va in ME contains a population of large, darkly stained pyramidal cells, not present in CE. When stained for the presence of calbindin, CE shows strong staining of both neuropil and neurons almost exclusively in layer II, whereas in ME this staining extends into the superficial portion of layer III. The border is also signaled by a change in the staining for parvalbumin. In CE layers II and III exhibit moderate homogeneous staining whereas in ME, parvalbumin positive neuropil is rather sparse.
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