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Distribution and origin of the peripheral innervation of rat cervical esophagus

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Abstract

Several neurotransmitters, neuropeptide Y (NPY), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), galanin, enkephalin, calcitonin-gene related peptide (GGRP), substance P, as well as nitric oxide synthase (NOS), and the noradrenergic marker tyrosine-hydroxylase (TH) were localized by immunocytochemistry in the cervical esophagus of rat. Nerve fibers containing the neuropeptides, NOS, and TH were distributed in the myenteric plexus, around muscle bundles and small blood vessels. Injection of the retrograde tracer True Blue (TB) into the cervical esophagus resulted in the appearance of labeled nerve cell bodies in the superior cervical, the stellate, the nodose, the sphenopalatine, the dorsal root ganglia at levels C2−C7, and in local ganglia close to the thyroid. Most of the TB-labeled nerve cell bodies in the superior cervical ganglia contained NPY. In the stellate ganglion, a few labeled nerve cell bodies contained VIP whereas an additional few cell bodies stored NPY. In local ganglia, the majority of labeled cell bodies contained VIP. In the nodose ganglion and cervical dorsal root ganglia, the majority of the labeled nerve cell bodies stored CGRP. The results indicate that the cervical esophagus has a dense innervation with multiple neurotransmitters emanating from several ganglia. As judged by the pattern of nerve fiber distribution, they may regulate esophageal peristalsis and blood flow, some of them possibly in a cooperative manner.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, General Hospital, Malmö

    Rolf Uddman MD, Torsten Grunditz MD, Hilmi Desai MD & Gustaf Fernström MD

  2. Department of Medical Cell Research, University of Lund, Sweden

    Anders Luts MD & Frank Sundler MD

Authors
  1. Rolf Uddman MD
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  2. Torsten Grunditz MD
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  3. Anders Luts MD
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  4. Hilmi Desai MD
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  5. Gustaf Fernström MD
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  6. Frank Sundler MD
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Uddman, R., Grunditz, T., Luts, A. et al. Distribution and origin of the peripheral innervation of rat cervical esophagus. Dysphagia 10, 203–212 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00260977

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