title: Intrinsic innervation of the oesophagus in dogs with special reference to the presence of muscle spindles.
abstract: The study of the intrinsic innervation of the oesophagus in dogs revealed the presence of capsulated ganglia and scattered neurons in the upper and lower thirds of the organ. The cells were either oval or pyriform with multiple dendrites and ill-defined capsules of pericellular satellites. Furthermore, muscle spindles were detected amidst the obliquely set muscle fibres of the oesophageal muscular coat. Simple motor and plates supplied the striated extrafusal muscle fibres. The submucous nerve plexus contained no ganglia. Its nerve fibres extended to form periacinar and intra-acinar axons to the oesophageal submucous glands. Subjacent to the mucosa, the subepithelial nerve plexus gave intraepithelial free terminals that penetrated the basement membrane to end within the stratified epithelium just beneath its cornified layer.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004285:Dogs; D004947:Esophagus / Q000294:innervation*; D009470:Muscle Spindles / Q000033:anatomy & histology*