Submucosal plexus of terminal ileum: a study of the cholinergic and noradrenergic nerves in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes.

In order to study the type and degree of the alterations in the innervation of the intestine in experimental diabetes, a histochemical study on the cholinergic and noradrenergic nerves of the submucosal plexus of terminal ileum from rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes was performed. The results obtained suggest that the diabetic animals keep the cholinergic activity undamaged 20 weeks after the induction of the illness, while the number of the catecholaminergic nerves appears to be markedly reduced.