Location of motoneurones projecting to the cat distal forelimb. I. Deep radial motornuclei.

The position of the motornuclei projecting through the dorsal interosseus (DR) nerve to the distal forelimb muscles has been investigated in the cat. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and fluorescent (Fl) compounds have been used as retrograde tracers. They were either injected into forelimb muscles or applied to the proximal end of transected forelimb nerves. Limb muscles that were not investigated have been carefully denervated. HRP was used to trace the position and the architecture of the individual motornuclei. The topographical relations between the nuclei were established with application of up to three F compounds in the same animal. The position of the labeled motornuclei was reconstructed with a computer-assisted approach which is described in the appendix. The DR representation area extends from the caudal C5 to the caudal Th1 segments. In C6 it forms a dorsoventrally oriented narrow region at the lateral border of the ventral horn; in C7 and rostral C8 it forms a broad column in the dorsolateral corner of the ventral horn. In caudal C8 and Th1 this column is shifted into a ventral direction. The motoneurones projecting to the individual DR muscles are not randomly distributed in this area, but arranged in long, slender columns. These motornuclei occupy specific positions with only minimal interindividual variations. Three nuclei (brachioradialis, extensor carpi radialis, and supinator) are located in the C6 and C7 segments. They compose about one-third of the DR cell population. The nuclei to the other radial muscles are all located in C8 and Th1. Thus most of the DR motoneurones are located in these two segments. These results, together with those from the companion paper on the location of the median and ulnar motornuclei, provide important anatomical knowledge for the investigation of the cat brachial enlargement.