title: Origin and course of nerves immunoreactive for calcitonin gene-related peptide surrounding the femoral artery in rat.
abstract: Appreciation of anatomic relationships between perivascular nerve fibers and blood vessels is essential in reconstructive surgery. We examined the origin and neural connections of perivascular nerve fibers containing calcitonin gene-related peptide surrounding the femoral artery that regulate vascular tone. We used immunohistochemistry, denervation, and retrograde labeling methods. Peptide-immunoreactive fibers surrounding the femoral artery formed a complex network, with numerous small fibers extending from nerve fiber bundles located in the perivascular connective tissue. In middle and distal arterial segments, these fibers originated from the femoral nerve, the artery's main accompanying nerve. More proximally, fibers arose from the genitofemoral nerve and sympathetic nerves. Nerve branches terminating in various arterial segments had origins corresponding to those of somatic sensory nerve fibers, although pathways innervating the femoral artery took different courses.
authors: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School and Faculty of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors: Hirohiko
authors: H
authors: Ishikawa
authors: Takashi
authors: T
authors: Honda
authors: Kazuhiro
authors: K
authors: Toriyama
authors: Shuhei
authors: S
authors: Torii
authors: Yasuo
authors: Y
authors: Sugiura
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D002452:Cell Count; D005260:Female; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000294:innervation*; D005267:Femoral Nerve / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000601:surgery; D005728:Ganglia, Sympathetic / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D018998:Wheat Germ Agglutinin-Horseradish Peroxidase Conjugate / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018998:Wheat Germ Agglutinin-Horseradish Peroxidase Conjugate; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide