| Grey columns | |
|---|---|
 Cross section of the spinal cord. The three grey columns make up the butterfly-shaped shaded region | |
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | columnae griseae |
| TA98 | A14.1.02.101 |
| TA2 | 6063 |
| FMA | 77867 |
| Anatomical terminology | |
The grey columns are three regions of the somewhat ridge-shaped mass of grey matter in the spinal cord.[1] These regions present as three columns: the anterior grey column, the posterior grey column, and the lateral grey column, all of which are visible in cross-section of the spinal cord.
The anterior grey column is made up of alpha motor neurons, gamma motor neurons, and small neurons thought to be interneurons.[2] It affects the skeletal muscles.
The posterior grey column receives several types of sensory information regarding touch and sensation from receptors in the skin, bones, and joints, including fine touch, proprioception, and vibration.[citation needed] It contains the cell bodies of second-order sensory neurons and their synapses with the pseudounipolar first-order sensory neurons (whose cell bodies are located within the sensory ganglia (a.k.a. dorsal root ganglia)).
The lateral grey column is only present in the thoracic region and upper lumbar segments (T1-L2). It contains preganglionic cell bodies of the autonomic nervous system and sensory relay neurons.
- ^ Henry Gray; Susan Standring; Harold Ellis; B. K. B. Berkovitz (2005), Gray's anatomy, p. 255
- ^ Terao S, Sobue G, Hashizume Y, Li M, Inagaki T, Mitsuma T (Aug 1996). "Age-related changes in human spinal ventral horn cells with special reference to the loss of small neurons in the intermediate zone: a quantitative analysis". Acta Neuropathologica. 92 (2): 109–14. doi:10.1007/s004010050497. PMID 8841655. S2CID 19467756.