Adrenergic and Cholinergic Innervation of the Pheasant Spleen

The localization and distribution of the adrenergic and acetylcholinesterase (AChE)positive nerve fibres innervating the spleen was studied in pheasant by using histochemical methods. Both visualized nerve fibres entered the pheasant spleen at its hilum in the vicinity of the splenic artery branches and they were gradually distributed into the parenchyma along large arterial branches. The greatest number and density of adrenergic and cholinergic nerve fibres were associated with the central artery of the white pulp, and from this localization entered to the periarterial lymphatic sheath. Some of these nerve profiles extended to the red pulp and reached the splenic capsule. The adrenergic nerve fibres were found in the well of large and small branches of the splenic veins, but no cholinergic nerve fibres were found there. The abundant occurence of adrenergic and cholinergic nerve fibres in several parts of the pheasant spleen suggest about their participation on modulation of splenic functions.