Short official Latin term

Libelle of note

The dorsal horn consists of layer I to layer VI, including the sensory layers I-IV and the mixed layers V and VI (VI only present in the intumescences) as advocated in TA and by Sengul G, Watson C (2012) Spinal cord: regional anatomy, cytoarchitecture and chemoarchitecture. In: Mai JK, Paxinos G, eds: The Human Nervous System, 3rd ed. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 186-232. Layers I and II form the superficial dorsal horn, and layers III to VI the deep dorsal horn. The intermediate zone is interpreted as layer VII only, and the ventral horn consists of the layer VIII and layer IX.

See note # 19735

For the Reticulospinal tracts various terms are used in the literature. Following the study on human reticulospinal fibres by Nathan PW, Smith MC, Deacon P (1996 Vestibulospinal, reticulospinal and descending propriospinal nerve fibres in man. Brain 119:1809-1833), here, a simplified subdivision into a Lateral (from The Myelencephalon) and a Medial reticulospinal tract (from the Pons) is advocated.

Nathan and Smith described the Propriospinal fasciculi as Posterior or Dorsal, Lateral, and Anterior or Ventral Ground bundles (Nathan PW, Smith MC 1959 Fasciculi proprii of the spinal cord in man. Brain 82:610-668). The term Fasciculus septomarginalis (Septomarginal fasciculus) is used for: 1) the Oval bundle of Flechsig, present at lumbar levels; and 2) the Triangle of Philippe-Gombault, present at sacral levels (see Schoenen J, Grant G 2004 The spinal cord: Connections. In: Paxinos G, Mai JK, eds: The Human Nervous System, 2nd ed. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 236-265). The term Fasciculus interfascicularis is also known as the Comma tract of Schultze, present at cervical and high thoracic levels. According to Nathan and Smith (1959), the Comma tract consists of descending divisions of the cervical and upper thoracic dorsal roots. The Fasciculus cornucommissuralis is present throughout the cord, best developed at lumbar levels; situated along the medial side of the posterior grey column abutting the posterior commissure. It consists of ipsilaterally running propriospinal fibres (see Schoenen and Grant 2004).

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See note # 5242

See note # 24664

According to Kuypers HGJM (1981, Anatomy of the descending pathways. Chapter 13 in Hb Physiol, The Nervous System II. American Physiological Society, Bethesda, MD), propriospinal neurons, the intermediates between descending pathways and spinal motoneurons, can be subdivided into three groups: 1) Short propriospinal neurons with cell bodies located in the lateral parts of Laminae V-VII, with a range of 6-8 segments; 2) Intermediate propriospinal neurons with cell bodies mainly in the central part of Lamina VII, and axons extending over a subtotal number of cord segments (C>L; Th>S); 3) Long propriospinal neurons with cell bodies in the medial part of Lamina VII and in Lamina VIII, and extending over the whole extent of spinal cord segments.

A Tractus spinohypothalamicus (Spinohypothalamic tract) has been characterized functionally in monkeys (Zhang X, Wenk HN, Gokin AP, et al. 1999 Physiological studies of spinohypothalamic tract neurons in the lumbar enlargement of monkeys. J Neurophysiol 82:1054-1058; see also Westlund KN, Willis WD Jr 2012 Pain system. IN: Mai JK, Paxinos G, eds: The Human Nervous System, 3rd ed. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 1144-1186).

In their study on Autonomic neurons in the spinal cord, Petras JM, Cummings JF (1972 Autonomic neurons in the spinal cord of the rhesus monkey. J Comp Neurol 146:189-218) described the Nucleus intercalatus spinalis (Spinal intercalated nucleus) and subdivided the Nucleus intermediolateralis (Intermediolateral nucleus) into a Principal part and a Funicular part, extending into the Lateral funiculus.

For the Tractus spinoolivaris (Spino-olivary tract) as eponym Helweg's tract is used. Smith and Deacon (Smith MC, Deacon P 1981 Helweg's triangular tract in man. Brain 104:249-277) denied that Helweg's tract contains spino-olivary fibres; more likely reticulospinal; Helweg's tract can be identified in Weigert-stained sections, but hardly in Luxol-Fast-Blue-stained sections. The term Fibrae olivospinales is deleted (non-existent); they are probably reticulospinal fibres; see Brodal A 1969 Neurological Anatomy in Relation to Clinical Medicine, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press, New York).