part of fan-shaped body synaptic neuropil layer fan-shaped body layer 2009-08-13T02:50:08Z Horizontal, laminar subdivision of the fan-shaped body that results from the stratification of large field neurons. There are 8 layers that run parallel to each other increasing in width dorsally to form a fan shape (Ito et al., 2014). There is additionally a 'cap' (layer 9) that sits dorsal to layer 8 and is narrower than the other layers (Wolff et al., 2015). Based on silver staining, Hanesch et al. (1989) claim that there are 6 layers in the fan-shaped body (1-6 from top to bottom). In more recent work using the synaptic marker Nc82, Young and Armstrong (2010) state that there are 'roughly 8 layers', but note that 'establishing specific layers clearly' can often prove difficult. Lin et al. (2013) define 6 layers (a-f, from top to bottom). This ontology currently follows Ito et al. (2014), which divides the fan-shaped body into 8 layers, numbering them from bottom to top. We additionally have the extra dorsal layer (9) defined by Wolff et al. (2015). fly_anatomy.ontology FBbt:00040035 VFB:FBbt_00040035 layer of fan-shaped body