Innervation of rat molar teeth: I. Distribution of neuronal cell bodies in the trigeminal ganglion from a mandibular molar tooth.

The cell bodies of neurons innervating a rat mandibular molar tooth were examined with respect to their location in the trigeminal ganglion. The study sought to determine if these cell bodies were restricted to a specific somatotopic location within the mandibular territory of the ganglion or if they were distributed throughout the entire mandibular territory. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) pellets were placed in the cavity preparation of right first mandibular molar teeth for a 24-hour period. The animals were then perfusion fixed, and the right trigeminal ganglion was removed, sectioned and processed by the tetramethyl benzidine neurohistochemical technic. The four trigeminal ganglia constituting this experimental series demonstrated 129, 185, 236, 318 HRP-positive cell bodies. These cell bodies were dispersed throughout the extent of the mandibular territory. It was concluded from these observations that the distribution of cell bodies innervating a rat mandibular molar tooth is not restricted to a specific region of the mandibular territory of the trigeminal ganglion, but rather the distribution of these cell bodies is throughout all parts of the mandibular territory.