Raphespinal tract

Raphespinal tract
Details
Identifiers
Latintractus raphespinales
Anatomical terminology

The raphespinal tract is a descending spinal cord tract located in the medulla oblongata.[1] It consists of two tracts an anterior raphespinal tract, and a lateral raphespinal tract that mainly descend in the lateral funiculus.[2][3][4] Fibers descend in the ventral portion of the lateral funiculus, mainly bilaterally to terminate in laminae I, II, and IV.[1]

The tract emerges from three of the raphe nuclei, the magnus, obscurus, and pallidus.[1] The fibers of the raphespinal tract are mainly serotonergic. When raphe nuclei are stimulated they release serotonin which modulates the transmission of pain.[1][2]

  1. ^ a b c d Tan, Sheryl; Faull, Richard L. M.; Curtis, Maurice A. (April 2023). "The tracts, cytoarchitecture, and neurochemistry of the spinal cord". The Anatomical Record. 306 (4): 777–819. doi:10.1002/ar.25079.
  2. ^ a b Kiernan, John A.; Rajakumar, Nagalingam (2013). Barr's The Human Nervous System: An Anatomical Viewpoint (10th ed.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. pp. 154, 291–293. ISBN 978-1-4511-7327-7.
  3. ^ Donkelaar, Hans J. ten; Kachlík, David; Tubbs, R. Shane. An Illustrated Terminologia Neuroanatomica: A Concise Encyclopedia of Human Neuroanatomy. Springer. p. 418. ISBN 978-3-319-64789-0.
  4. ^ "lateral raphespinal tract".