Light and electron microscopic studies on the intrinsic innervation of the guinea-pig seminal vesicle following selective axotomy.

Selected peripheral autonomic nerves have been surgically divided or removed and the seminal vesicles subsequently examined using neurohistochemical and electron microscopic techniques. Following bilateral hypogastric anf pelvic nerve transection, the arrangement and distribution of intramural axons 14 days after operation were similar to those in control specimens. In contrast, removal of the pelvic plexus was accompanied by a gradual reduction of catecholamine and acetylcholinesterase so that by the seventh post-operative day nerves were not observed light microscopically in the muscle coat or the submucosa. These observations have been endorsed using electron microscopy, and the fine structure of intramural autonomic nerves in response to axotomy has been monitored during the post-operative period. It has been concluded that the cell bodies of axons which supply the wall of the seminal vesicles are located within the pelvic plexus and do not extend proximal to the sites of division of the hypogastric and pelvic nerves.