Unmyelinated fibres in the sacral 3 and caudal 1 ventral roots of the cat.

M. L. Applebaum, G. L. Clifton, R. E. Coggeshall, J. D. Coulter, W. H. Vance, W. D. Willis

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

78 Scopus citations

Abstract

1. 29% of the axons in the S3 and Ca 1 caudal ventral roots of the cat are unmyelinated. 2. Approximately one half of these unmyelinated axons survive in the proximal stump of a sectioned ventral root and are regarded as unmyelinated preganglionic efferents. 3. At least 27% of the preganglionic efferents in segments S3 and Ca 1 are unmyelinated. 4. The other half of the ventral root unmyelinated axons arise from dorsal root ganglion cells and survive in the distal stump of a sectioned ventral root. 5. The data in 4, combined with the receptive field data in our companion paper, show that these unmyelinated fibres are sensory. 6. Since 15% of the ventral root axons are sensory, the Law of Bell and Magendie cannot be regarded as an accurate description of the organization of these ventral roots.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)557-572
Number of pages16
JournalThe Journal of Physiology
Volume256
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 1 1976
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physiology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Unmyelinated fibres in the sacral 3 and caudal 1 ventral roots of the cat.'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this