Innervation of the female reproductive system provides an important signal for a variety of neuroendocrine reflexes and behaviors in the female rat. Although some studies suggest that afferent feedback from the gonads is involved in the hypothalamic control of gonadal function and pituitary hormone release, the extent and function of afferent feedback from the gonads in these neuroendocrine reflexes has yet to be clarified. Deafferentation studies have provided only partial support for the afferent control of the gonads. Some studies even suggest functional asymmetries in the neural control of the gonads, but knowledge regarding the neuroanatomical substrate for these possible neurogonadal interactions remains incomplete. Studies with retrograde tract tracers indicate that the ovaries receive a substantial afferent supply from lower thoracic-upper lumbar dorsal root ganglia. Despite stringent precautions to prevent diffusion of tracers following injections into the ovary or related nerves, many of the retrogradely labeled cell bodies identified by these studies may represent an overestimation of the extent of afferent innervation. We have reexamined the afferent innervation of the female reproductive tract by means of the anterograde transport of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) from thoracic, lumbar and sacral dorsal root ganglion to pelvic visceral organs and have studied the effects of unilateral ganglionectomy on substance P containing fibers in the ovary, oviduct and uterus. The neuroanatomical results show that the T13 and L1 dorsal root ganglia provide major afferent innervation to the cranial portion of the reproductive tract and the L6 and S1 dorsal root ganglia provide primary afferent fibers to the caudal portion of the reproductive tract as well as the bladder, rectum and perineum.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)