[Spinal nerve root distribution of the myelinated and unmyelinated nerve fibers of a cat cutaneous nerve]

Abstract

The distribution of myelinated and nomyelinated nerve fibres from n. saphenus in the dorsal and ventral roots of the cat spinal cord was investigated, using methods improving the signal-to-noise ratio in the neurogram of the nerve evoked response. Nerve fibres from n. saphneus enter the spinal cord through roots of segments L4-6. In the dorsal roots of these segments the nerve fibres have conduction velocities from 80 to 0.38 m/s. In the ventral roots four groups of the nerve fibres with conduction velocities 80--60, 40--30, 12.0--3.0 and 1.1--0.51 m/s are found that are likely to be afferents. The conditions for low amplitude potentials detection in the spinal cord roots as well as the possible functional significance of the nerve fibres in the ventral roots are discussed.