Intramural neurones appear in the urinary bladder wall following excision of the pelvic ganglion in the rat

Abstract

THE entire bladder of female rats was stained for acetylcholinesterase activity, in order to make visible all the intramural nerves. Ganglion neurones were never observed within the bladder wall of adult controls. In contrast, 2, 13 or 27 weeks after unilateral pelvic ganglion destruction a few intramural neurones were consistently observed along the remnants of nerves in the originally denervated half of the bladder. These neurones were often gathered into clusters of 5–15, inside a nerve or closely connected to it, with a faintly stained nerve leading to them and a more heavily stained nerve leading from them. The origin of the new intramural ganglion neurones is unknown, but they probably migrate after ganglionectomy, possibly from some accessory ganglion close to the bladder.