Journal of Nippon Medical School: Vol.70 No.4 page.342

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ArticleTitle Histochemical Study of the Sensory Endings of Muscle Spindles in Rat Longissimus Muscles

AuthorList Makoto Takamatsu

Affiliation Division of Comparative Morphology, Postgraduate School of Nippon Medical School

Language JA

Volume 70

Issue 4

Year 2003

Page 342-350

Received December 19, 2002

Accepted February 28, 2003

Keywords rat, longissimus muscle, muscle spindle, histochemistry

Abstract Most studies concerning the structure and function of muscle spindles have utilized the hind limbs of experimental animals. However, little is known about muscle spindles of the back muscles. The purpose of this study was to investigate the sensory innervation of muscle spindles of the paravertebral muscle in the rat. The subjects were 10 normal male rats. The longissimus muscles were isolated and frozen in cooled isopentane (-160°C), and serial transverse sections were made with a cryostat. Histochemical preparations were then made using nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide tetrazolium reductase (NADH-TR) stain and modified Gomori-trichrome stain. The muscle spindles in each segment were identified microscopically by observing the equatorial and polar regions. NADH-TR staining was employed to distinguish nuclear bag1, nuclear bag2, and nuclear chain intrafusal muscle fibers. A total of 20 spindle poles were surveyed. The mean polar length of intrafusal fibers as well as that of each region (A, B, and C) were measured. NADH-TR staining also demonstrated the terminal sites of sensory fibers along intrafusal fibers. All spindle poles surveyed were innervated by secondary sensory fibers in addition to primary sensory fibers. Eight spindle poles were intermediate type muscle spindles that were innervated by one primary sensory fiber and one secondary sensory fiber. Twelve spindle poles were complex type muscle spindles that were innervated by one primary sensory fiber and multiple socondary sensory fibers. The mean length of the A region was 223.1±37.9 μm (n=8) for intermediate type spindles and 493.8±157.0 μm (n=12) for complex type spindles. The length of the A region was significantly longer in the complex type spindles than in the intermediate type spindles (p<0.001). The results suggest that the innervations of secondary sensory fibers were well developed in the longissimus muscle spindles in the rat. The morphological features of muscle spindles of the longissimus muscle may represent the structural basis for qualitatively different afferent discharges that relate to the characteristic types of locomotion served by paravertebral muscles.

Correspondence to Makoto Takamatsu, Division of Comparative Morphology, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8602, Japan
m-takamatsu@amy.hi-ho.ac.jp

ArticleTitle	Histochemical Study of the Sensory Endings of Muscle Spindles in Rat Longissimus Muscles
AuthorList	Makoto Takamatsu
Affiliation	Division of Comparative Morphology, Postgraduate School of Nippon Medical School
Language	JA
Volume	70
Issue	4
Year	2003
Page	342-350
Received	December 19, 2002
Accepted	February 28, 2003
Keywords	rat, longissimus muscle, muscle spindle, histochemistry
Abstract	Most studies concerning the structure and function of muscle spindles have utilized the hind limbs of experimental animals. However, little is known about muscle spindles of the back muscles. The purpose of this study was to investigate the sensory innervation of muscle spindles of the paravertebral muscle in the rat. The subjects were 10 normal male rats. The longissimus muscles were isolated and frozen in cooled isopentane (-160°C), and serial transverse sections were made with a cryostat. Histochemical preparations were then made using nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide tetrazolium reductase (NADH-TR) stain and modified Gomori-trichrome stain. The muscle spindles in each segment were identified microscopically by observing the equatorial and polar regions. NADH-TR staining was employed to distinguish nuclear bag1, nuclear bag2, and nuclear chain intrafusal muscle fibers. A total of 20 spindle poles were surveyed. The mean polar length of intrafusal fibers as well as that of each region (A, B, and C) were measured. NADH-TR staining also demonstrated the terminal sites of sensory fibers along intrafusal fibers. All spindle poles surveyed were innervated by secondary sensory fibers in addition to primary sensory fibers. Eight spindle poles were intermediate type muscle spindles that were innervated by one primary sensory fiber and one secondary sensory fiber. Twelve spindle poles were complex type muscle spindles that were innervated by one primary sensory fiber and multiple socondary sensory fibers. The mean length of the A region was 223.1±37.9 μm (n=8) for intermediate type spindles and 493.8±157.0 μm (n=12) for complex type spindles. The length of the A region was significantly longer in the complex type spindles than in the intermediate type spindles (p<0.001). The results suggest that the innervations of secondary sensory fibers were well developed in the longissimus muscle spindles in the rat. The morphological features of muscle spindles of the longissimus muscle may represent the structural basis for qualitatively different afferent discharges that relate to the characteristic types of locomotion served by paravertebral muscles.
Correspondence to	Makoto Takamatsu, Division of Comparative Morphology, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8602, Japan m-takamatsu@amy.hi-ho.ac.jp