An analysis of the sympathetic preganglionic neurons projecting from the upper thoracic spinal roots of the cat

The distribution of sympathetic preganglionic neurons that project via the right stellate ganglion has been studied quantitatively in adult cats. Retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) injected into the ganglion or applied to transected axons of the cervical sympathetic trunk (CST) resulted in labelling of neurons in the ipsilateral spinal cord over T1-T9 and T1-T7, respectively. Their distribution and morphology in the subnuclei of the intermediate zone were determined. Neurons within the principal part of the intermediolateral column (ILp) comprised the majority of labelled cells at all levels, irrespective of the site of HRP application, while more medially located neurons projected differentially. A combination of the application procedures labelled what appeared to be a sum of the individual projections, and few ILp cells remained unlabelled in the most rostral segments. From reconstructions of different segmental levels, most of the cells in the ILp were found to lie in a column approximately 200 micrometer in diameter composed of a series of cell aggregations of 20-150 neurons at intervals of approximately 300 micrometer. Less frequently, mediolaterally aligned cells extended toward the central canal, near which small cell clusters were also detected. After selective HRP application to individual rami of T1-T3, labelled cells were restricted to one segment's length, so that neurons located more caudally must project extraspinally to the stellate ganglion. Consideration of the maximum cell numbers labelled by each procedure suggests that preganglionic collaterals (probably unmyelinated) diverging from the pathway to the preferred target of their parent neuron were not labelled by this technique.