The projections from the dorsal raphe (DR) to the locus coeruleus (LC) or vice versa were analyzed in the rat using an anterograde tracer, Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin (PHA-L) combined with serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) or dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH) immunostaining. Following the injection of PHA-L into the middle DR, DR-originating fibers with varicosities have contacted DBH-immunolabeled cells in the rostral, middle, and caudal LC. Axon terminals were also observed in the subcoeruleus nucleus. When the PHA-L injection was confined within the caudal DR, axonal fibers with varicosities were observed mainly at the rostral pole of the LC. Following the injection of PHA-L into the caudal, principal LC, labeled fibers with varicosities have contacted 5-HT-immunolabeled neurons at dorsomedial, ventromedial, lateral wing, and caudal sub-divisions of the DR. The present anterograde study suggests that the DR or the LC nuclei communicate with each other in order to perform a variety of functions including vigilance, analgesia, and stress responses.