title: Parasympathetic motor pathways to the trachea: recent morphologic and electrophysiologic studies.
abstract: The distinctive features of the parasympathetic motor pathway to the trachea include: preganglionic fibers, many with an inspiratory rhythm, that converge onto ganglion cells and excite them through nicotinic receptors; an elaborate plexus of nerves and ganglia that covers the posterior surface of the trachea and extends anteriorly between each cartilaginous ring; ganglion cell bodies with heterogeneous morphologic and electrical properties--some large, others small, some with an inspiratory rhythm, and others with an expiratory rhythm; the trachealis muscle, which contracts with an inspiratory rhythm and closely parallels activity in the phrenic nerve.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005726:Ganglia, Parasympathetic / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D010275:Parasympathetic Nervous System / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D014132:Trachea / Q000294:innervation*