The localization of cardiac vagal motoneurons in the medula of the ferret (Mustela Putorius Furo)

Using the Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) retrograde axonal transport labelling technique, the central origins of cardiac vagal preganglionic neurons were investigated in the ferret. The atrial and ventricular walls of the heart were injected with HRP following exposure of the heart through a left thoracotomy. A set of control ferrets was injected in the same manner as the experimental rat with normal saline, while another set was injected with HRP after bilateral cervical vagotomy. The last set of control ferrets received HRP injections into the lest ventricular cavity. After 48-72 hours of survival period, serial transverse frozen sections of the brainstem and upper spinal cord were taken and processed for HRP neurohistochemistry using the tetramethylbenzidine method as earlier described by Mesulam (1,2.). Examinations of the sections under bright and dark-field illumination revealed the presence of HRP labeled neurons bilaterally in the nucleus ambiguus (nA). Few labeled neurons were also seen in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve (DMX). HRP labeled neurons were not seen in any of the control sets. It is concluded that the heart in the ferret receives its' vagal preganglionic innervation principally from the nA and partly from the DMX (AU)

Preganglionic parasympathetic vagal innervation of the pylorus: a HRP study in the ferret (Mustela Putorius Furo)

The brainstem origins of vagal preganglionic parasympathetic neurons innervating the pylorus was studied in the ferret using the Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) neurohistochemical technique. A total of 12 adult male and female ferrets (8 experimental and 4 controls) were used for the study (AU)