[Central projections of the rat superior laryngeal nerve].
Laryngeal nerves contain the fibres that control the laryngeal function. On the rat, the studies on the functional components and the real origin of the fibres conveyed by the superior laryngeal nerve (SLN) are few. No one of such works were developed using biotinylated dextrane amines (BDA), a powerful tool for tracing neural pathways. The aim of our study was to identify by using BDA, in the rat, the nuclei of real origin of the fibres of the SLN, knowing in this way the functional components of this nerve. The study has been developed in 11 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, applying the BDA into the damaged SLN. The results obtained in all the animals shown that the rat SLN carries efferent fibres originated within the ipsilateral nucleus ambiguous (NA) and dorsal nucleus of the vagus (DNV), and that afferent fibres reach the tractus solitari and the nucleus tractus solitari. So, in the rat, the SLN seems to convey efferent fibres from the NA and DNV and, probably, all the laryngeal afferent fibres.
Pascual-Font
A
A
Departamento de Anatomía y Embriología Humana I. Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, Madrid.
Maranillo
E
E
Merchán
A
A
Vázquez
T
T
Safiudo
J R
JR
Valderrama-Canales
F
F
D000818:Animals; D007823:Laryngeal Nerves / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley