DISTRIBUTION OF NEURONS INNERVATING THE UTERUS OF THE PIG

The distribution of neurons innervating the uterus of the pig was stud ied with the use of fluorescent retrograde tracer Fast Blue. Tracer in jections were made into the uterine cervix, pericervical, middle and p erioviductal part of the right uterine horn. After tracer injection in to the uterine cervix tracer-positive neurons were found bilaterally i n the inferior mesenteric ganglia, paracervical ganglia, paravertebral ganglia L1-S3 and dorsal root ganglia Th10-L4 and S2-S3. After tracer injection into the pericervical part of the right uterine horn the di stribution of tracer-positive neurons resembled the one described earl ier, except the tracer-positive neurons were absent in the left dorsal root ganglia. After tracer injection into the middle part of the righ t uterine horn tracer-positive neurons were found in the ipsilateral i nferior mesenteric ganglion, bilaterally in the paracervical ganglia a nd in the ipsilateral paravertebral ganglia (L2-L6). Injection of the tracer into the perioviductal part of the right uterine horn revealed tracer-positive neurons bilaterally in the inferior mesenteric ganglia and paracervical ganglia and single cells in the ipsilateral paravert ebral ganglia. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.