Synopsis
The distribution of cholinesterase activity was studied histochemically in the autonomic ganglia of the human sympathetic trunk and the vagus nerve using a modified Koelle's technique. It was found that the cytoplasm of both sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve cells contained acetylcholinesterase but the intensity of the enzyme reaction varied from cell to cell in both types of ganglia. Tissue elements surrounding the nerve cells showed a low butyrylcholinesterase activity in the ganglia of the sympathetic trunk but a high one in the terminal ganglia of the vagus nerve. Postganglionic nerves fibres gave a weak reaction for acetylcholinesterase in the sympathetic, but a strong one in the vagus ganglia. The distribution pattern of cholinesterases in human autonomic ganglia was found to be different from that of a variety of laboratory and wild animals.
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Naik, N.T., Cauna, N. Histochemical observations on cholinesterase activity in the autonomic ganglia of the human sympathetic trunk and vagus nerve. Histochem J 3, 47–53 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01686506
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01686506