Segade L A
Department of Morphological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Neurosci Lett. 1990 Aug 14;116(1-2):64-9. doi: 10.1016/0304-3940(90)90387-o.
Motoneurons supplying the transverse mandibular muscle (TMM) in the guinea pig have been traced by injecting wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) in the TMM, and after applying HRP to the mylohyoid nerve. The TMM is bilaterally innervated by 22-36 motoneurons in each trigeminal motor nucleus, forming a column located ventrolaterally along the entire length of the superficial masseter motoneuron group. The axons are incorporated to the mylohyoid nerve. The location, the axon pathways in the brainstem and the pattern of the dentritic tree suggest that in the guinea pig the TMM motoneurons are involved in the masticatory movements in coordination with other jaw-closing muscles.