Morphology and synaptic connections of unmyelinated primary axons in the border zone of rat trigeminal nucleus oralis

This anterograde horseradish peroxidase study examines the morphology and synaptic connections of a population of primary axons which terminate in the dorsal one-half of the border zone (BZ) of rat trigeminal nucleus oralis. Unmyelinated parent fibers in the spinal V tract enter BZ directly and each terminate by continuing as a sparsely branched, long caudally directed strand containing several axonal endings. Primary endings lie in glomeruli where each forms an asymmetrical synapse on a central dendrite. Other glomerular components include two types of non-primary endings. One contains flattened synaptic vesicles, and forms a symmetrical synapse on either the primary ending or the central dendrite, while the other contains pleomorphic synaptic vesicles and establishes a symmetrical synapse on the central dendrite.