Cheng S B, Hayakawa T, Kuchiiwa S, Maeda S, Ito H, Seki M, Nakagawa S
Department of Anatomy, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan.
Brain Res. 1999 Jun 19;832(1-2):171-4. doi: 10.1016/s0006-8993(99)01429-8.
We investigated whether the heart receives collateral projections from the neurons which innervate the esophagus with a retrograde double-labeling method using two fluorescent tracers. Following injections of True Blue (TB) into the esophagus and Diamidino Yellow (DY) into the heart, about 21.9% of the labeled esophageal motoneurons in the compact formation of the nucleus ambiguus (AmC) were retrogradely double labeled. No single-labeled cardiac motoneurons were found in the AmC. The present results provide anatomical substrates for the esophagocardiac reflex.
