Afferents to the lateral reticular nucleus from the oculomotor region. I. The Edinger-Westphal nucleus.

By means of retrograde axonal transport of the wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase complex, a projection from the Edinger-Westphal nucleus to the lateral reticular nucleus was demonstrated in the cat. Following small tracer ejections in the main part of the lateral reticular nucleus, a significant number of labelled neurons were found bilaterally throughout the Edinger-Westphal nucleus. Most of the labelled cells were located on the ipsilateral side. The projecting neurons are spindle-shaped to round with a maximum diameter of the cell body between 15 and 30 microns. The findings are discussed in relation to other Edinger-Westphal efferent projections, and some comments are made concerning the cytoarchitecture and delineation of the feline Edinger-Westphal nucleus.