Peripheral neural input to neurons of the stellate ganglion in dog

In vitro and in vivo studies were conducted on the stellate ganglion (SG) of the dog by recording action potentials from its nerves and its neurons. For in vitro preparations, the SG and its nerve trunks were dissected from the animal and secured in an organ bath. Peripheral input to the SG was produced by electrical stimulation of the ventral ansa subclavia (VA), dorsal ansa subclavia (DA), and stellate cardiac nerve (SC) in 15 ganglion preparations studied in vitro. Electrical stimulation of the VA elicited action potentials recorded at the DA. This conducting pathway did not involve direct anatomic continuity, since the evoked potentials were blocked by injection of hexamethonium chloride into the SG. Most neurons in the SG received synaptic input from fibers of both central and peripheral origin. In 12 in vivo preparations, all nerves to the SG except the VA were cut. When peripheral sympathetic afferent input to the SG was increased, some of the postganglionic fibers of the dissected DA exhibited an increase in efferent nerve discharge. This response was also blocked by hexamethonium chloride. These results indicate that some of the functions of the SG might be independent of the central nervous system.