The innervation of mast cells

In this chapter we hope to persuade the reader that many, if not all mast cells are innervated, i.e., mast cells are closely apposed to varicose axons and that the interchange of chemical messengers occurs at these sites. This may not be surprising to anatomists and morphologists who have documented the microanatomical association of numerous mast cells with nerve bundles for many years. ^1,2 In spite of this well described relationship, the potential for direct “neurocrine” communication between individual axons and mast cells has not received much attention, although an “axon-reflex” pathway involving mast cells has been proposed in the skin. ^3,4.