The subnuclei and primary afferents of the descending trigeminal system in the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos L.).

The descending trigeminal tract and its nuclei were described in the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos L.). The borders of the system were established in Fink-Heimer preparations after unilateral lesions placed in the Gasserian ganglion using the distribution of degenerated particles as a criterion. Adjacent sections, stained with the Nissl, Kluver-Barrera and Haggqvist methods were used in the description of cyto- and fibroarchitecture of the descending trigeminal system and surrounding structures. Descending fibers of the trigeminal root could be traced from the sensory root, ventral to the main sensory nucleus, into the descending tract and its nuclei. Its fibers pass into the spinal cord, but not farther than the third cervical segment. Seven subdivisions (parts a-g) were recognized, but could be combined into four subnuclei, viz. in the terminology of Olszewski: subnucleus oralis containing parts a and b; subnucleus interpolaris parts c and d; subnucleus caudalis part f; dorsal horn part g, etc. No primary trigeminal fibers could be traced to structures outside the main sensory nucleus and nuclei of the descending trigeminal tract; all projections were ipsilateral with the exception of a slight bilateral projection caudal to the obex. Partial lesions in the Gasserian ganglion showed a distribution of the mandibular, maxillary and ophthalmic fibers from dorsal to ventral respectively in the subnuclei oralis and interpolaris, and from medial to lateral in the subnuclei caudalis and dorsal horn. Afferents from the petrosal ganglion project upon the medial part of subnucleus interpolaris and upon a small cell group (nucleus of the ascending glossopharyngeal tract) that may be functionally part of the subnucleus oralis. The subnucleus caudalis receives afferents from the jugular ganglion. These differences in afferentation are used in a tentative functional interpretation of the subdivisions of the nucleus of the descending trigeminal system.