Spinal Cord Anatomy Flashcards
What is the white matter separated to in the spinal cord?
Dorsal/Lateral/Ventral Funiculus
What is gray matter?
Cell bodies
What is white matter?
Fibers - axons
Where is the alar plate located?
Dorsal Funiculus
Where is the basal plate located?
Ventral Funiculus
Dorsal Horn - Substantia Gelatinosa
Small compact cells that modulate pain sensory input
Dorsal Horn - Nucleus Proprius
Cells of origin of the spinothalamic tract that receives many sensory inputs
Intermediate Gray Area - Nucleus Dorsalis
AKA “Clark’s Nucleus” and is used for the dorsal spinocerebellar tract
Lateral Horn - Intermediolateral Nucleus
Origin of the preganglionic sympathetic cholinergics and is found from T1 to L3
Intermediate Gray Area - Intermediomedial Nucleus
Receives visceral afferents - not as important as IML
Ventral Horn - Medial and Lateral Motor Nuclei
Axial muscles are medial and muscles such as those in your hand are controlled by the lateral nuclei
What are the non-encapsulated receptors?
- Free Nerve Endings
- Merkel’s Disk
- Hair Follicle
What are the fast adapting receptors?
- Hair Follicle
- Meissner’s Corpuscle
- Pacinian Corpuscle
Meissner’s Corpuscle Function
2 point discrimination
Pacinian Corpuscle Function
Vibration
What information does the dorsal column pathway relay?
GSA
- 2 point discrimination
- Vibration sense
- Proprioception (positional)
What are the receptors of the DCP?
- Meissner’s Corpuscle
- Pacinian Corpuscle
- Neuromuscular Spindle
- Golgi Tendon Organs
Romberg’s Sign
Romberg’s sign is positive if the patient requires vision to stand steadily.
What is the origin of the spinothalamic tract?
Nucleus Proprius
Brown-Sequard Lesion
- Proprioception lost on the side of the lesion
- Pain and temperature lost on the opposite side of the lesion
What is the only afferent that goes through the superior cerebellar peduncle?
Ventral Spinocerebellar Tract
What is the function of the corticospinal tract?
Controls fine movement
