The posterior grey column (posterior cornu, dorsal horn, spinal dorsal horn, posterior horn, sensory horn
) of the
spinal cord
The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the sp ...
is one of the three
grey columns of the
spinal cord
The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the sp ...
. It receives several types of sensory information from the body, including
fine touch
In physiology, the somatosensory system is the network of neural structures in the brain and body that produce the perception of touch (haptic perception), as well as temperature (thermoception), body position ( proprioception), and pain. It ...
,
proprioception
Proprioception ( ), also referred to as kinaesthesia (or kinesthesia), is the sense of self-movement, force, and body position. It is sometimes described as the "sixth sense".
Proprioception is mediated by proprioceptors, mechanosensory neurons ...
, and
vibration
Vibration is a mechanical phenomenon whereby oscillations occur about an equilibrium point. The word comes from Latin ''vibrationem'' ("shaking, brandishing"). The oscillations may be periodic, such as the motion of a pendulum—or random, su ...
. This information is sent from receptors of the skin, bones, and joints through sensory neurons whose
cell bodies lie in the
dorsal root ganglion
A dorsal root ganglion (or spinal ganglion; also known as a posterior root ganglion) is a cluster of neurons (a ganglion) in a dorsal root of a spinal nerve. The cell bodies of sensory neurons known as first-order neurons are located in the do ...
.
Anatomy
The posterior grey column is subdivided into six layers termed
Rexed laminae I-VI
*
Marginal nucleus of spinal cord (lamina I)
*
Substantia gelatinosa of Rolando (lamina II)
*
Nucleus proprius (laminae III, IV)
*
Spinal lamina V, the neck of the posterior horn
*
Spinal lamina VI, the base of the posterior horn.
The other four Rexed laminae are located in the other two
grey columns in the spinal cord.
Additional images
File:Gray687.png, Section of the medulla oblongata
The medulla oblongata or simply medulla is a long stem-like structure which makes up the lower part of the brainstem. It is anterior and partially inferior to the cerebellum. It is a cone-shaped neuronal mass responsible for autonomic (invol ...
through the lower part of the decussation of the pyramids
See also
*
Posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway
*
Posterior horn of lateral ventricles
*
Anterior grey column
References
Spinal cord
Neuroanatomy
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