Mechanoreceptors in or near the coronary arteries

Afferent nerve fibres coming from the heart and contained in the cervical vagi have been extensively studied using electrophysiological techniques (Paintal, 1963; Heymans & Neil, 1958). The possibility that some of these nerve fibres came from the coronary arteries has been overlooked. The coronary arteries have a rich sensory innervation and many of the afferent nerve endings may be mechanoreceptors. Moreover, the corresponding nerve fibres course in the vagi (Abraiham, 1962). Therefore, in the present experiments an attempt was made to correlate the impulse activity in afferent cardiac vagal fibres with changes in coronary artery pressure. A brief report of these experiments has already been made (Brown, 1964).