Spinal Cord Anatomy

• Spinal bones 33
• Cervical 7 • Spinal nerves 31
• Thorax 12 • Cervical 8
• Lumbar 5 • Thorax 12
• Sacral 5 • Lumbar 5
• Coccyx 4 • Sacral 5
• Coccyx 1
Gray Matter Specific Nucleus
• Posterior Marginal Nucleus (I)
• Substantia Gelatinosa of Rolando (II)
• Nucleus Propius (III & IV)
• Lateral Basal Nucleus
• Spinal reticular zone
• Clarkes column (VII)
• Intermediomedial nucleus (VII)
• Intermediallateral nucleus (VII)
• Lamina VIII, no specific nuclei
• Lamina IX, no specific nuclei •
• Lamina X no specific nuclei
White Matter
• White Matter (Descending)
• Lateral
• Lateral corticospinal tract
• Sacral Lateral
• Cervical Medial
• Rubrospinal tract
• Anterior
• Lateral reticulospinal tract
• Medial reticulospinal tract
• Vestibulospinal tract
• Tectospinal tract
• Anterior corticospinal tract
• White Matter (Ascending)
• Posterior
• Fasiculus Gracilis (Medial) (Part DCML)
• Lower extremities T6 below
• Fasiculus Cuneatus (Lateral) (Part DCML)
• Upper extremities T5 above
• Lateral
• Dorsal spinocerebellar tract
• Ventral spinocerebellar tract
• Lateral spinothalamic tract
• Sacral Lateral
• Cervical Medial
• Spino Olivary tract
• Anterior
• Anterior spinothalamic tract
Blue Ascending , Red Descending
• Dorsal White Column • Ventral White Column
• Fasciculus Gracilis • Lateral Reticulospinal Tract (Medulla)
• Fine touch/vibration/propioception T6 below • Flexors
• Fasiculus Cuneatus • Medial Reticulospinal Tract (Pontine)
• Fine touch/vibration/propioception T5 above • Extensor
• Lateral White Column • Vestibulospinal tract
• Extensor
• Lateral corticospinal tract
• LMN Voluntary control skeletal muscle
• Tectospinal tract
• Movement head, neck, eye
• Rubrospinal Tract
• LMN Flexor
• Ventral corticospinal tract
• LMN voluntary muscle control
• Dorsal spinocerebellar tract
• Propioception C8-L2
• Anterior spinothalamic tract
• Crude touch & Pressure
• Ventral spinocerebellar tract
• Propioception L2-Co1
• Spino Olivary tract • Part of AnteroLateral System
• Propioception  Inferior olives  cerebellum • Lateral Spinothalamic tract
• Lateral Spino thalamic tract • Anterior spinothalamic tract
• Pain & temp • Spinoreticular
• Spinomesenchepalic
• Spinohypothalamic
• Spinotectal
DCML (Dorsal Column Medial Lemniscal)
Pathway
Ascending tract
Tract 1st order 2nd order 3rd order 4th order
Fasciculus Gracilis
Fasciculus Cuneatus
Neospinothalamic
(Lateral Spinothalamic)
Paleospinothalamic
(Lateral Spinothalamic)
Anterior Spinothalamic
Spinoreticular
Spinohypothalamic
Spinomesencephalic
Dorsal spinocerebellar Dorsal Root Ganglion Clarkes Nucleus
Ventral spinocerebellar Dorsal Root Ganglion Spinal Border Cells
(lateral part of
lamina V and VII)
Spino Olivary Dorsal Root Ganglion Dorsal Gray Horn Inferior olivary
nucleus
Cuneocellebelar Dorsal Root Ganglion Dorsal Gray Horn Accesory cuneate
nucleus