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Unmyelinated axons in thoracic ventral roots of the cat
Author(s) -
Emery Dennis G.,
Ito Haruhide,
Coggeshall Richard E.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
journal of comparative neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 209
eISSN - 1096-9861
pISSN - 0021-9967
DOI - 10.1002/cne.901720103
Subject(s) - anatomy , efferent , biology , spinal cord , dorsal root ganglion , dorsum , ganglion , axon , sensory system , neuroscience , afferent
ABSTRACT This study shows that approximately 30% of the axons in the Tll and T12 ventral roots of the cat are unmyelinated. The unmyelinated axons fall into two categories. Slightly less than half are efferents from the spinal cord and slightly more than half arise from dorsal root ganglion cells. The efferent fibers are regarded as unmyelinated preganglionic sympathetics, the fibers of dorsal root ganglion origin are regarded as sensory. This organization of the T11‐T12 ventral roots, which are part of the sympathetic outflow, is similar to that of cat ventral roots S3 and Cal, which are part of the parasympathetic outflow, but different from cat ventral roots L7 and Sl, which are between the visceral outflows.