Supersensitivity of denervated superior cervical ganglion to acetylcholine

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Abstract
The supersensitivity of denervated superior cervical ganglion to acetylcholine was studied in cats at 2 weeks after the section of cervical sympathetic trunk on one side, with the other side as a control. The control ganglion required about four times as much of acetylcholine as the denervated side, in order to release the same amount of norepinephrine at the postganglionic endings. The relative quantity of norepinephrine released on acetylcholine administration to ganglia was determined indirectly by using the in vivo nictitating membrane as an indicator, whose responses to various doses of norepinephrine had been calibrated. The validity of such indirect determination of norepinephrine was shown by experiments in which the eyeballs were removed or the lever magnifications were made unequal. With control cats in which both cervical sympathetic trunks were cut acutely, the sensitivity of the ganglia on two sides to acetylcholine was almost equal.