Cholinergic nerves in the lacrimal gland of the desert rat.

The histochemical localization of acetylcholinesterase activity in the lacrimal gland was investigated in intact (control) and chemically sympathectomized desert rats. An intensely positive specific cholinesterase reaction was found in the thick nerve bundles distributed throughout the interlobular connective tissue septa. Thick and fine nerves were present in the vicinity of the intra- and interlobular ducts and round the glandular acini and the blood vessels. The finding that this distribution pattern did not alter in the lacrimal gland of chemically sympathectomized animals suggest that the nerves are of a parasympathetic nature.