Relationship of the ovine epicardial ganglionated nerve plexus with sympathetic trunks and vagal nerves. stereomicroscopic study

Abstract

In respect of further investigation of the ovine model, a stereomicroscopic study of the ovine extrinsic cardiac nerve plexus was performed in order to identify the relationship of the epicardial ganglionated nerve plexus (EGNP) with sympathetic chains and vagal nerves. EGNP was revealed by a histochemical method for acetylcholinesterase on whole heart while extrinsic cardiac nerves were stereomicroscopically tracked using a microdissection of 18 newborn German black-faced lambs. The present study shows that the dorsal and ventral right atrial, and the middle epicardial nerve subplexuses received the extrinsic neural input from the right cervicothoracic (stellate) and the right thoracic T2, T3 ganglia of the sympathetic chain as well as from the right vagus nerve. The lamb left dorsal epicardial nerve subplexus is supplied by extrinsic nerves from the left thoracic (T5, T6) sympathetic ganglia and the left vagus nerve. The cardiac branches from the both vagal nerves, both stellate ganglia, left superior cervical and left middle cervical ganglia proceed into the left and right coronary epicardial nerve subplexuses. The sources of neural inputs as well as the course of extrinsic cardiac nerves into the ovine heart are sharply distinct compared to schema of the human heart innervation.