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An autoradiographic study of the distribution of the vagus nerve in the wall of the ferret stomach
Author(s) -
AlMuhtaseb M. H.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
clinical anatomy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.667
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1098-2353
pISSN - 0897-3806
DOI - 10.1002/ca.980060104
Subject(s) - trunk , anatomy , vagotomy , stomach , dorsal motor nucleus , medicine , vagus nerve , curvatures of the stomach , pylorus , biology , surgery , stimulation , ecology
In this study, the normal distribution of the dorsal and ventral vagal trunks in the wall of the stomach of the ferret was investigated by the method of partial acute vagotomy and analyzed by light autoradiography. The dorsal trunk is distributed to the dorsal surface of the body and both surfaces of the pylorus. The ventral trunk reaches principally to the body of the ventral surface of the stomach. Three months after partial vagotomy, tritiated leucine was injected into the vagal dorsal motor nucleus to map any anatomical changes in the gastric distribution of each abdominal vagal trunk. Three months after dorsal trunk vagotomy, the ventral trunk invaded the territory of the dorsal trunk close to the lesser curvature of the body of the stomach by reactive sprouting. Three months after ventral trunk vagotomy, the dorsal trunk spread to innervate the ventral surface of the stomach that formerly was innervated by the ventral trunk. Three months after ventral trunk vagotomy, regrown connection of the ventral trunk was observed crossing over the ligature to the denervated areas of the ventral surface of the stomach. This result was observed in the three animals of chronic ventral vagotomy only, and the histological examination of the regrown connection showed that it was neuronal. This phenomenon of the compensatory reactive sprouting of the surviving vagal nerve terminals, whether regenerative or terminal, may explain the recovery of gastric function. This could account for some of the failures of partial vagotomy in humans. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.