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Anterior horn (spinal cord)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article does not cite any references or sources. (May 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
| Anterior horn (spinal cord) | |
|---|---|
| Latin | cornu anterius medullae spinalis |
| Gray's | subject #185 753 |
| Dorlands/Elsevier | c_55/12259735 |
The anterior horn of the spinal cord (or anterior cornu, or anterior column, or ventral horn) is the ventral (front) grey matter section of the spinal cord.
The anterior horn contains motoneurons that affect the axial muscles while the posterior horn receives information regarding touch and sensation.
The anterior horn is where the cell bodies of alpha motorneurons are located.
It is these cells that are affected in the so-called "Anterior Horn Diseases", namely Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Spinal muscular atrophy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and Progressive muscular atrophy. These motorneurons are also affected in Spinal and Bulbar Muscular Atrophy (Kennedy disease).
The Anterior Column (anterior cornu, anterior horn), directed forward, is broad and of a rounded or quadrangular shape.
Its posterior part is termed the base, and its anterior part the head, but these are not differentiated from each other by any well-defined constriction.
It is separated from the surface of the medulla spinalis by a layer of white substance which is traversed by the bundles of the anterior nerve roots.
In the thoracic region, the postero-lateral part of the anterior column projects lateralward as a triangular field, which is named the lateral column (columna lateralis; lateral cornu).
 Section of the medulla oblongata through the lower part of the decussation of the pyramids |
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.
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| Spinal nerve | Dorsal (Root, Ganglion, Ramus) • Ventral (Root, Ramus) • Sympathetic trunk • rami communicantes (Gray, White) |
| Gray matter/Rexed laminae | Posterior horn (Column of Clarke, Substantia gelatinosa of Rolando, Nucleus proprius) • Lateral horn • Anterior horn • Central canal/Substantia gelatinosa centralis |
| White matter: somatic/ascending (blue) | |
| White matter: motor/descending (red) |
Lateral: Corticospinal (Lateral) • Ep (Rubrospinal, Olivospinal) Anterior: Corticospinal (Anterior) • Ep (Vestibulospinal, Tectospinal, Reticulospinal) |
| Layers | Epidural space • Dura mater • Subdural space • Arachnoid mater • Subarachnoid space • Pia mater |
| Other structures | Denticulate ligaments • Conus medullaris • Cauda equina • Filum terminale • Cervical enlargement • Lumbar enlargement • Anterior median fissure |
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