Functional and Anatomical Features of the Dorsal Column Nuclei in Mammals and Lower Animals

Sami I. Zaqout^1, and Saleh M. Al-Hussain²

¹Anatomy Department, Faculty of Medicine, Islamic University of Gaza, Gaza, Palestine

²Anatomy Department, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan

Cite this paper

Sami I. Zaqout and Saleh M. Al-Hussain. Functional and Anatomical Features of the Dorsal Column Nuclei in Mammals and Lower Animals. American Journal of Medical and Biological Research. 2013; 1(1):23-27. doi: 10.12691/AJMBR-1-1-4

Abstract

The dorsal fasciculi of the spinal cord are known as the chief pathways for the conduction of impulses underlying deep sensibility and tactile discrimination from limbs which reach the thalamus and ultimately the cerebral cortex after a relay at a bulbar level, the dorsal column nuclei. It is believed that the development of the dorsal fasciculi and their nuclei in the mammalian and primate series is correlated with increasing sensory discrimination in the skin and the increased development of proprioceptive sense in the limb musculature. In this review we will discuss the reflection of the development of limbs and sensory discrimination in lower animals and mammals on the organization and some functional aspects of these nuclei.

Keywords

Gracile, Cuneate, Neurons, Development

Copyright

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