Spinal sympathetic pathway: an enkephalin ladder.
Enkephalin distribution was examined in autonomic areas of the rat thoracic spinal cord. The localization of enkephalin fibers coincided with nuclear regions containing sympathetic preganglionic neurons. Horizontal sections revealed a pattern for enkephalin fibers resembling Laruelle's description of the localization of sympathetic preganglionic neurons as rungs of a ladder.
D000818:Animals; D001339:Autonomic Fibers, Preganglionic / Q000502:physiology; D002415:Cats; D003078:Colchicine; D004745:Enkephalins / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000502:physiology*; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*
D004745:Enkephalins; D003078:Colchicine