Organization of afferent and efferent pathways in the pudendal nerve of the female cat

Application of horseradish peroxidase to the pudendal nerve in the female cat labelled lumbosacral afferent and efferent neurons and their processes. Afferent axons entered the spinal cord primarily at the S1 and S2 segments and traveled rostrocaudally in Lissauer's tract and the dorsal columns. A distinctive component of the dorsal column projection was located at the lamina I-dorsal column border as a densely labelled, compact bundle that distributed fibers to the dorsal horn at spinal levels near the segments of entry of the afferent axons. Afferent terminal labelling was located in the marginal zone, the intermediate gray matter, and the dorsal gray commissure in the lumbosacral and coccygeal spinal cord. A well-defined terminal field restricted to the S1 and rostral S2 segments was present in the medial third of the nucleus proprius and substantia gelatinosa. Labelled motoneurons in Onuf's nucleus (S1 and S2) exhibited longitudinal dendrites that extended rostrocaudally within the nucleus and three groups of transverse dendrites that emanated periodically from the nucleus and passed to the ventrolateral funiculus, the intermediate gray, and the dorsal gray commissure. Components of the pudendal nerve that innervate the anal and urethral sphincters were also labelled by injecting HRP into the respective sphincter muscles. Motoneurons innervating the anal and urethral sphincters were located in the dorsomedial and ventrolateral divisions, respectively, of Onuf's nucleus. Afferent projections from the two sphincters were similar; the most prominent terminations were present in the marginal zone, intermediate gray, and dorsal gray commissure. These results are discussed with respect to the physiological function of the pudendal nerve and its relationship with sacral autonomic pathways.