SYMPATHETIC MAPPING OF THE RAT FEMORAL VESSEL

• Main Authors: Hsiu-Er Chao, 趙修娥
• Other Authors: Feng-Bin Wang
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2006
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/26050622712008051088

碩士 === 國立中正大學 === 心理學所 === 95 === The autonomic nervous system controls the diameter of the femoral vessels which supply the blood flow of the low extremities. The detailed gross anatomical pathway that projects to the femoral vessels has not been well established. In the present study, we adopted the techniques of whole mount tissue preparation and the track-tracing neural tracer (WGA-HRP and HRP) combined with the sympathectomy to anatomically reveal the neural connection of the femoral vessels. After injecting the WGA-HRP into the sympathetic trunk at the L2~ L3 level, the nerve was divided into two nerve bundles at L5 level and respectively travel caudally along the blood vessels toward the abdominal aorta and the inferior vena cava; however, the nerve endings could not be traced. In the second experiment, the adventitia of the femoral artery or vein on both sides were separated and soaked with HRP solution (20%) combined with a sympathectomy caudal to the L5 level to verify whether the newly identified nerve bundles are the pathways for the afferents and sympathetic efferents and to explore the distribution of their somata. The data have shown that the afferents and sympathetic efferents do travel through the newly identified pathways connecting to the femoral vessels and not through the femoral nerve as suggested in the literature. The sympathetic postganglionic neurons that innervate the femoral vessels are distributed from L1 to L3 and mainly in the L2 and L3; while the afferent neurons are located from L4 to L6 and the femoral artery are mainly in L5 and the vein are in L4. These data indicate that the femoral vessels have their own direct innervation pathways which are not via the somatic path as the indirect innervation of the skin and muscles in the low extremity.