Stellate ganglion innervation of the vertebro-basilar arterial system demonstrated in the rat with anterograde and retrograde WGA-HRP tracing

Stellate ganglia projections to cerebral arteries have been investigated with wheatgerm-agglutinated horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP). Injections of WGA-HRP into the stellate ganglia resulted in labelling of nerve fibres on the vertebral and basilar arteries, and their side branches. The innervation was bilateral, but with an ipsilateral predominance. After WGA-HRP application on the basilar artery, retrogradely labelled cells appeared in both stellate ganglia, but most numerously in the right ganglion (70-75%). Failure to detect stellate projections to cerebral arteries in 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-pretreated animals indicates that these fibres are of noradrenergic sympathetic character. It is suggested that the stellate fibres follow the vertebral arteries towards the basilar artery and its branches.