The Innervation of the Lymphoid Tissue at the lleocolonic Transition: An Enzyme and Immunohistochemical Study

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Abstract
Using enzyme and immunohistochemical methods on whole-mount preparations and cryostat sections, a morphologic and semiquantitative study was performed of the nervous tissue in the appendix and the ileum (areas with and without Peyer’s patches) of the rabbit. The plexus submucosus externus (Meissner) consists of a network of small ganglia, vaguely associated with the vascular sub-mucosal plexus. From the nerve cell bodies, cell processes occasionally penetrate the lymphoid follicles at the junction between the mucosa and the submucosa while other extensions form a dense plexus in the lamina propria of the mucosa. No nerve fibers are present in the dome of the follicles. The plexus submucosus internus (Henle), consisting of large cell bodies and large processes, closely follows the blood vessels. The numeration of the nerve fibers of the sub-mucosal plexus endorses the histological finding that the appendix is a richly innervated lymphoid organ. In addition, the plexus myentericus (Auerbach) of the appendix is a network of small meshes, while in the ileum, in the area of Peyer’s patches, the same plexus is composed of a network with large meshes. These differences point to a higher density of innervation in the appendix. Yet a specialized anatomic distribution of the innervation of lymphoepithelial structures cannot be demonstrated.

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