An experimental study concerning the accessory nerve in the chicken and turkey.
The retrograde degeneration consecutive to accessory nerve transection proved that the real origin of this nerve in the chicken and turkey is represented exclusively by the ipsilateral dorso-central motor column described by BECCARI (1943). This nucleus, with a moniliform aspect, extends into the first two cervical neuromeres and enters the bulb, where it is continuous with the alpha subdivision of the hypoglossal nucleus. The accessory nerve of the two species of birds is homologous with the external ramus of the same nerve in mammals. An internal ramus is absent in birds.
D000055:Accessory Nerve / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D012183:Retrograde Degeneration; D014422:Turkeys / Q000033:anatomy & histology*