Effects of Surgical Sympathectomy on Laminar Nerve Endings in Myenteric Ganglia

Abstract

Extirpation of the anterior regions of the sympathetic ganglionated chain (all cervical ganglia and the four subsequent thoracic ganglia) has been carried out in the cat. Histological study of the esophagus wall has shown intraganglionic laminar endings (IGLEs) to suffer an alteration which, in time, reverts to normality. Since it is not a Wallerian degeneration as such, we conclude, contrary to what has previously been assessed by some authors, that these nerve apparatuses are not dependent either on nerve cells located in sympathetic ganglia or on nerve fibers coursing through the sympathetic trunk. Speculations are made as to why IGLEs undergo a transitory alteration after experimental destruction of nerve strutures to which they are not directly related.