Adrenergic innervation of the nasal mucosa in cat. A histological and physiological study.

Abstract

The adrenergic innervation of the cat nasal mucosa was investigated with fluorescence and electron microscopy. A strong fluorescence attributable to adrenergic nerves was observed on the outer surface of the smooth muscle layer of blood vessels, whereas the fenestrated capillaries showed no evidence of adrenergic innervation. A sparse adrenergic innervation was observed in connection with the mucosal glands. The effects of sympathetic nerve activation and various denervation procedures were evaluated with a local tracer disappearance technique, reflecting the vascular events in the exchange vessels of the maxilloturbinal area. Both functional as well as morphological data pointed to an ipsilateral distribution of the sympathetic nerve fibres from the superior cervical ganglion to the nasal mucosa. The sympathetic postganglionic nerve fibres to the nose travel via the tympanic plexus. After passage through the tympanic plexus, the major sympathetic nerve supply to the maxilloturbinal area travels in the Vi...