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Rubrospinal tract
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rubrospinal tract | |
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| Rubrospinal tract is 2a, in red at left. | |
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| Schematic representation of the chief ganglionic categories (Rubrospinal tract not labeled, but red nucleus visible near center) | |
| Latin | tractus rubrospinalis |
| Gray's | subject #192 870 |
| Dorlands/Elsevier | t_15/12817153 |
The rubrospinal tract is a part of the nervous system. It is a part of the lateral indirect extra-pyramidal tract.
It is an alternative route for the mediation of voluntary movement. It is responsible for large muscle movement such as the arms and the legs as well as for fine motor control. It facilitates the flexion and inhibits the extension in the upper extremities.
It is small and rudimentary in humans. In some other primates, however, experiments have shown that over time, the rubrospinal tract can assume almost all the duties of the corticospinal tract when the corticospinal tract is lesioned.
In the midbrain, it originates in the red nucleus, crosses to the other side of the midbrain, and descends in the lateral part of the brainstem tegmentum.
In the spinal cord, it travels through the lateral funiculus of the spinal cord in the company with the lateral corticospinal tract.
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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 |