Summary
Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) injections were made in the rectus abdominis, obliquus externus, obliquus internus, transversus abdominis, cutaneous maximus, latissimus dorsi and the longissimus dorsi muscles in the cat. The results showed that motoneurons innervating the obliquus externus, obliquus internus and transversus abdominis muscles were located in greatly overlapping areas of midthoracic, caudal thoracic and upper lumbar spinal segments. These motoneuronal cell groups were present laterally in the ventral horn and at caudal thoracic and upper lumbar levels they bordered on the white matter. The location of the rectus motoneurons differed somewhat from the location of the other motoneuronal cell groups because they were also present at low cervical and upper thoracic levels and in the segments T12 to L3 they were found in the ventral horn medial to the other abdominal muscle motoneuronal cell group. At mid-thoracic levels rectus motoneurons were located in the same area as the other abdominal muscle motoneurons. Latissimus dorsi motoneurons were observed in a large cell group in the ventrolateral part of the ventral horn at the levels caudal C6 to rostral C8. Furthermore they were found in the segments T9 to L3 laterally in the ventral horn which is the same area in which the other abdominal muscle motoneurons except the rectus ones are located. Longissimus dorsi motoneurons were located in the most ventral portion of the ventral horn in all thoracic and upper 4 lumbar segments. The cutaneous maximus motoneurons were found in a cell group, located ventrolaterally in the ventral horn at the edge of the gray and white matter at the level caudal C8-rostral T1. This cell group corresponds to the caudal part of the ventral motor nucleus (VMN) of Matsushita and Ueyama (1973). Interestingly, labeled motoneurons were also present in the VMN after injecting HRP in the abdominal muscles as well as in the caudal (but not in the rostral) parts of the latissimus dorsi muscle but not in the longissimus dorsi injected cases. The possibility whether these motoneurons are labeled because of leakage of HRP to abdominal and caudal latissimus dorsi muscles is discussed. If leakage would not be the case, motoneurons in the VMN may be involved in specific functions of the abdominal muscles, such as the so-called steady state contractions.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Basmajian JV, Deluca CJ (1985) Muscles alive. Their functions revealed by electromyography, 5th edn. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore London Sydney
Bertrand F, Hugelin A, Vibert JF (1974) A stereologic model of pneumotaxic oscillator based on spatial and temporal distributions of neuronal bursts. J Neurophysiol 37: 91–107
Bertrand F, Hugelin A (1971) Respiratory synchronizing function of nucleus parabrachialis medialis: pneumotaxic mechanisms. J Neurophysiol 34: 189–207
Brink EE, Morrell JI, Pfaff DW (1979) Localization of epaxial motoneurons in the rat. Brain Res 170: 23–41
Campbell EJM, Green JH (1953) The variations in intra-abdominal pressure and the activity of the abdominal muscles during breathing; a study in man. J Physiol 122: 282–290
Crough JE (1969) Text-atlas of cat anatomy. Lea Febiger, Philadelphia
Feldman JL, Loewy AD, Speck DF (1985) Projections from the ventral respiratory group to phrenic and intercostal motoneurons in cat: an autoradiographic study. J Neurosci 5: 1993–2000
Floyd WF, Silver PHS (1950) Electromyographic study of patterns of activity of the anterior abdominal wall muscles in man. J Anat 84: 132–145
Gesell RA (1940) Ergebn Physiol 43: 447–595
Giovanelli Barilari MS, Kuypers HGJM (1969) Propriospinal fibers interconnecting the spinal enlargements in the cat. Brain Res 14: 321–330
Haase P, Hrycyshyn AW (1985) Labeling of motoneurons supplying the cutaneous maximus muscle in the rat, following injection of the triceps brachii muscle with horseradish peroxidase. Neurosci Lett 60: 313–318
Haase P, Hrycyshyn AW (1986) On the diffusion of horseradish peroxidase into muscles and the ‘spurious’ labeling of motoneurons. Exp Neurol 91: 399–403
Holstege G, Kuypers HGJM (1977) Propriobulbar fibre connections to the trigeminal, facial and hypoglossal motor nuclei. Brain 100: 239–264
Holstege G, Kuypers HGJM (1982) The anatomy of brain stem pathways to the spinal cord in cat. A labeled amino acid tracing study. In: Kuypers HGJM, Martin GF (eds) Descending pathways to the spinal cord. Progress in Brain Research, Vol 57. Elsevier Biomedical Press, North-Holland, pp 145–175
Holstege G, Van Neerven J, Evertse F (1984) Some anatomical observations on axonal connections from brain stem areas, physiologically identified as related to respiration. Neurosci Lett Suppl 18: S83
Krogh JE, Towns LC (1984) Location of the cutaneous trunci motor nucleus in the dog. Brain Res 295: 217–225
Krogh JE, Towns LC (1986) Is there morphological separation between the spinal cord motor nuclei which innervate the heads of a multiheaded muscle? Brain Res 369: 331–335
Matsushita M, Ueyama T (1973) Ventral motor nucleus of the cervical enlargement in some mammals; its specific afferents from the lower cord levels and cytoarchitecture. J Comp Neurol 150: 33–52
McCarthy LE, Borison HL (1974) Respiratory mechanics of vomiting in decerebrate cats. Am J Physiol 226: 738–743
Mehler W (1969) Some neurological species differences — a posteriori. Ann NY Acad Sci 167: 424–468
Mesulam M-M (1978) Tetramethyl benzidine for horseradish peroxidase neurohistochemistry: a non-carcinogenic blue reaction-product with superior sensitivity for visualizing neural afferents and efferents. J Histochem Cytochem 26: 106–117
Merrill EG (1970) The lateral respiratory neurones of the medulla: their associations with nucleus ambiguus, nucleus retroambiguus, the spinal accessory nucleus and the spinal cord. Brain Res 24: 11–28
Miller AD, Ezure K, Suzuki I (1985) Control of abdominal muscles by brain stem respiratory neurons in the cat. J Neurophysiol 54: 155–167
Romanes GJ (1951) The motor cell columns of the lumbo-sacral spinal cord of the cat. J Comp Neurol 94: 313–363
Romanes GJ (1964) The motor pools of the spinal cord. In: Eccles JC, Schade JP (eds) Organization of the spinal cord. Progress Brain Res 11: 93–119
Smith CL, Hollyday M (1983) The development and postnatal organization of motor nuclei in the rat spinal cord. J Comp Neurol 220: 16–28
Sterling P, Kuypers HGJM (1967) Anatomical organization of the brachial spinal cord of the cat. II. The motoneuron plexus. Brain Res 4: 16–32
Williams PL, Warwick R (1980) Gray's anatomy. 36th edn. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh London Melbourne New York
Youmans WB, Tjioe DT, Tong EY (1974) Control of involuntary activity of abdominal muscles. Am J Phys Med 53: 57–74
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Holstege, G., van Neerven, J. & Evertse, F. Spinal cord location of the motoneurons innervating the abdominal, cutaneous maximus, latissimus dorsi and longissimus dorsi muscles in the cat. Exp Brain Res 67, 179–194 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00269465
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00269465