What are the spinal pathways?
There are three types of ascending tracts, dorsal column-medial lemniscus system, spinothalamic (or anterolateral) system, and spinocerebellar system. They are made up of four successively connected neurons.
How many spinal pathways are there?
There are 31 segments, defined by 31 pairs of nerves exiting the cord. These nerves are divided into 8 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5 sacral, and 1 coccygeal nerve (Figure 3.2).
What is Spinothalamic pathway?
The spinothalamic tract is a collection of neurons that carries information to the brain about pain, temperature, itch, and general or light touch sensations. The pathway starts with sensory neurons that synapse in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord.
What is the afferent pathway?
a neural pathway that conducts impulses from a sense organ toward the brain or spinal cord or from one brain region to another.
What are sensory pathways?
Sensory pathways consist of the chain of neurons, from receptor organ to cerebral cortex, that are responsible for the perception of sensations. Most somatosensory pathways terminate in the parietal lobe of the cerebral cortex.
What are the two pain pathways to the brain?
The medial thalamus projects to widespread areas of the forebrain, including the somatosensory cortex (Jones and Leavitt, 1974). Thus there are two major ascending pathways for pain: a direct lateral spinothalamic pathway and an indirect medial spinoreticulothalamic pathway.
How are neural pathways and spinal cord tracts related?
Neural pathways are groups of nerve fibers which carry information between the various parts of the CNS. Neural pathways that connect the CNS and spinal cord are called tracts. Ascending tracts run from the spinal cord to the brain while descending tracts run from the brain to the spinal cord. What are neural pathways and tracts?
What are the ascending and descending tracts of the spinal cord?
The spinal cord consists of ascending and descending tracts. The ascending tracts are sensory pathways that travel through the white matter of the spinal cord, carrying somatosensory information up to the brain.
Where does the lateral spinothalamic tract travel in the spinal cord?
The lateral spinothalamic tract travels in the lateral funiculus of the spinal cord and carries the sensations of pain and temperature.
Where does the crossover occur in the spinal cord?
The anterior spinothalamic tract carries crude touch and pressure sensations to the primary sensory cortex on the opposite side of the body. The crossover occurs in the spinal cord at the level of entry. Figure 15.3c The Posterior Column, Spinothalamic, and Spinocerebellar Sensory Tracts