Abstract
In order to determine the effect of unilateral superior cervical ganglionectomy on adrenergic and non-adrenergic nerve terminals of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) and vertebral artery (VA), quantitative analysis was performed on electron microscopic pictures of feline perivascular nerve terminals pretreated with 5-hydroxydopamine (5-OHDA).
In 5 cats, three weeks after the right superior cervical ganglionectomy, 5-OHDA (5 mg/kg body weight) was in-jected intravenously and 15 minutes later the animals were fixed by perfusion of 2.5% glutaraldehyde through the aortic arch. Sections were taken from the proximal segment of the MCA and intracranial portion of the VA of both sides and post-fixed with osmium and processed for electron microscopic examination.
The diameter and number of adrenergic and non-adrenergic vesicles in the perivascular nerve terminals were measured by means of an image analyzer, Luzex 500 (Nihon Regulator Co.). Four cats with a sham operation served as control.
In both MCA and VA, adrenergic and non-adrenergic vesicles were significantly larger on the ganglionectomized side than those of either the contralateral side or the control. In the MCA adrenergic and non-adrenergic vesicles were significantly smaller in the side opposite to the ganglionectomy than in the control, while no such difference was noted in the VA. The average number of adrenergic vesicles in a nerve terminal was significantly less on the ganglionec-tomized side than that on the contralateral side in the MCA and also than that in the control group.
It is concluded that the effect of unilateral superior cervical ganglionectomy is not confined to the ipsilateral adrenergic nerve terminals of the MCA and VA, but extends to the contralateral adrenergic nerve terminals of the MCA.
