Summary
Detailed comparative analysis of the organization of serotonin fibers in the anterior column of the mammalian spinal cord (rat, guinea pig, cat, dog and monkey) was carried out by use of the indirect antibody peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) method. The plexus formation of serotonin-containing varicose fibers around the α-motoneurons in the monkey anterior horn was in much closer apposition to the cell bodies in comparison with the spinal cords of the rodents and carnivores. The results may suggest that anterior horn motoneurons in the simian spinal cord are intimately innervated by serotonin fibers in a manner different from that of rodents and carnivores. Furthermore, the small cell groups endowed with particularly dense networks of serotonin fibers were demonstrable in the anterior horn of L1–L2 segments of rats, and L3–L4 of guinea pigs and monkeys; however, in the lumbar levels of the carnivores this was not the case. Hence it seems doubtless that there exists in the lumbar anterior horn of the rodent and primate spinal cords a cell group with an unknown specialized function.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bok ST (1928) Das Rückenmark. Möllendorff's Handbuch der mikroskopischen Anatomie des Menschen. 4, Springer, Berlin, pp 478–578
Bowker RM, Westlund KN, Coulter JD (1981a). Serotonergic projections to the spinal cord from the midbrain in the rat: an immunocytochemical and retrograde transport study. Neurosci Lett 24:221–226
Bowker RM, Westlund KN, Coulter JD (1981b) Origins of serotonergic projections to the spinal cord in rat: an immunocytochemical-retrograde transport study. Brain Res 226:187–199
Bowker RM, Westlund KN, Sullivan MC, Coulter JD (1982) Organization of descending serotonergic projections to the spinal cord. Descending pathways to the spinal cord. Progr in Brain Res 57: Elsevier Biomedical, Amsterdam, pp 239–265
Breedlove SM, Arnold AP (1980) Hormone accumulation of sexually dimorphic motor nucleus of the rat spinal cord. Science 210:564–566
Carlsson A, Falck B, Fuxe K, Hillarp NÅ (1964) Cellular localization of monoamines in the spinal cord. Acta Physiol Scand 60:112–119
Chouchkov CN (1974) Zur Localization von biogenen Aminen im Rückenmark der Ratte. Histochemistry 41:167–173
Dahlström A, Fuxe K (1965) Evidence for the existence of monoamines neurons in the central nervous system. II. Experimentally induced changes in the intraneuronal amine levels of bulbospinal neuron systems. Acta Physiol Scand 64: Suppl 247:5–36
Fuxe K (1965) Evidence for the existence of monoamine neurons in the central nervous system. IV. Distribution of monoamine nerve terminals in the central nervous system. Acta Physiol Scand 64: Suppl 247:38–85
Gilbert RFT, Emson PC, Hunt SP, Bennett GW, Marsden CA, Sandberg BEB, Steinbusch HWM, Verhofstad AAJ (1982) The effects of monoamine neurotoxins on peptides in the rat spinal cord. Neurosci 7:69–87
Jacobsohn L (1908) Über die Kerne des menschlichen Rückenmarks. Anhang zu den Abhandlungen der Königlichen Preussischen Akademie d. Wissenschaften, Berlin
Kojima M, Takeuchi Y, Goto M, Sano Y (1982) Immunohistochemical study on the distribution of serotonin fibers in the spinal cord of the dog. Cell Tissue Res 226:477–491
Kojima M, Takeuchi Y, Goto M, Sano Y (1983) Immunohistochemical study on the localization of serotonin fibers and terminals in the spinal cord of the monkey (Macaca fuscata). Cell Tissue Res 229:23–36
Konishi M (1968) Fluorescence microscopy of the spinal cord of the dog, with special reference to the autonomic lateral horn cells. Arch Histol Jpn 30:33–44
Lackner KJ (1980) Mapping of monoamine neurons and fibers in the cat lower brainstem and spinal cord. Anat Embryol 161:169–195
Massaza A (1922) La citoarchitettonica, del midollo spinale umano. I. Arch d'Anat. d'Histol et d'Embryol 1:323–410
Massaza A (1923) La citoarchitettonica del midollo spinale umano. II. Arch d'Anat, d'Histol et d'Embryol 2:1–56
Massaza A (1924) La citoarchitettonica del midollo spinale umano. III. Arch d'Anat, d'Histol et d'Embryol 3:115–189
Mizukawa K (1980) The segmental detailed topographical distribution of monoaminergic terminals and their pathways in the spinal cord of the cat. Anat Anz 147:125–144
Rexed B (1952) The cytoarchitectonic organization of the spinal cord in the cat. J Comp Neurol 96:415–496
Rexed B (1954) A cytoarchitectonic atlas of the spinal cord in the cat. J Comp Neurol 100:297–379
Rexed B (1964) Some aspects of the cytoarchitectonics and synaptology of the spinal cord. Prog Brain Res 11:58–92
Schrøder HD (1980) Organization of the motoneurons innervating the pelvic muscles of the male rat. J Comp Neurol 192:567–587
Sprague JM (1951) Motor and propriospinal cells in the thoracic and lumbar ventral horn of the rhesus monkey. J Comp Neurol 95:103–123
Steinbusch HWM (1981) Distribution of serotonin-immunoreactivity in the central nervous system of the rat — cell bodies and terminals. Neurosci 6:557–618
Takeuchi Y, Kimura H, Sano Y (1982) Immunohistochemical demonstration of the distribution of serotonin neurons in the brainstem of the rat and cat. Cell Tissue Res 224:247–267
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Supported by grant (No. 57214028) from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kojima, M., Sano, Y. The organization of serotonin fibers in the anterior column of the mammalian spinal cord. Anat Embryol 167, 1–11 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00304597
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00304597