Unmyelinated axons in thoracic ventral roots of the cat

This study shows that approximately 30% of the axons in the T11 and T12 ventral roots of the cat are unmyelinated. The unmyelinated axons fall into two categories. Slightly less than half are efferents from the spinal cord and slightly more than half arise from dorsal root ganglion cells. The efferent fibers are regarded as unmyelinated preganglionic sympathetics, the fibers of dorsal root ganglion origin are regarded as sensory. This organization of the T11-T12 ventral roots, which are part of the sympathetic outflow, is similar to that of cat ventral roots S3 and Cal, which are part of the parasympathetic outflow, but different from cat ventral roots L7 and S1, which are between the visceral outflows.