Choleragenoid horseradish peroxidase used for studying projections of some hindlimb cutaneous nerves and plantar foot afferents to the dorsal horn and Clarke's column in the rat.

The aim of the present study has been to investigate the spinal projections of cutaneous hindlimb afferents particularly to the deep dorsal horn and to Clarke's column (CC), by using the B-subunit of cholera toxin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase. Injections into three different cutaneous hindlimb nerves in adult rats resulted in dense labeling in the dorsal horn laminae IIi-IV/V, moderate labeling in lamina I and modest labeling in dorsomedial parts of CC. Footpad injections gave similar results, except for a lack of labeling in CC and only weak labeling in laminae I and V. The results suggest that B-HRP should be a useful marker for studying cutaneous myelinated nerve fiber projections to the rat spinal cord.