Posterolateral tract

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Posterolateral tract
Diagram showing a few of the connections of afferent (sensory) fibers of the posterior root with the efferent fibers from the ventral column and with the various long ascending fasciculi. (Lissauer's fasciculus visible in upper left.)
Diagram of the principal fasciculi of the spinal cord. (Lissauer's fasciculus visible in upper right.)
Details
Identifiers
Latintractus posterolateralis
NeuroNames782
NeuroLex IDnlx_143969
TA98A14.1.02.228
TA26092
FMA72616
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy

The posterolateral tract (fasciculus of Lissauer, Lissauer's tract, tract of Lissauer, dorsolateral fasciculus, dorsolateral tract, zone of Lissauer) is a small strand situated in relation to the tip of the

posterior nerve roots. It is present throughout the spinal cord
, and is most developed in the upper cervical regions.

Structure

The posterolateral tract contains centrally projecting

nucleus proprius. Those neurons project their axon to the anterolateral quadrant of the contralateral half of the spinal cord, where they give the spinothalamic tract. The axons of second-order neurons ultimately synapse on neurons in the ventral posterior lateral nucleus (VPL) of the thalamus after coursing in the spinal lemniscus. After this, the 3rd order neuron fibers traverse the internal capsule and the corona radiata, ultimately synapsing in the post central gyrus (somatosensory
cortex). The location of this synapse is dependent upon the somatotopic organisation of the somatosensory cortex, it can be estimated according to the position on the 'somatosensory homunculus'

The posterolateral tract consists of fine fibers which do not receive their myelin sheaths until toward the close of

endogenous
in origin.

These fibers are intimately related to the

substantia gelatinosa[1]
which is probably their terminal nucleus.

The non-myelinated fibers ascend or descend for short distances not exceeding one or two segments, but most of them enter the substantia gelatinosa at or near the level of their origin.

Clinical significance

During a complete occlusion of the

dorsal columns
. The posterolateral spinal tracts are involved with neurological deficits seen in pernicious anemia.

Eponym

The tract of Lissauer was named after German

neurologist Heinrich Lissauer
(1861-1891).

References

Public domain This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 762 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

  1. S2CID 25597735
    .

External links
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