Medial lemniscus
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At the time the article was created Kateryna Burlak had no recorded disclosures.
View Kateryna Burlak's current disclosuresAt the time the article was last revised Rohit Sharma had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.
View Rohit Sharma's current disclosures- Reil's band
- Reil's ribbon
The medial lemniscus, also known as Reil's band, is an ascending bundle of myelinated axons extending from the gracile and cuneate nuclei in the dorsal medulla up to the contralateral thalamus.
Gross anatomy
The medial lemniscus is part of the larger dorsal column-medial lemniscus pathway, important for conveying the sensation for fine (discriminative) touch, vibration and conscious proprioception.
Course
Gracile and cuneate nuclei are second-order sensory neurons which receive peripheral input from the first-order neurons in the gracile fasciculus and the cuneate fasciculus of the dorsal columns. These nuclei send out axons called the internal arcuate fibers, which become the medial lemniscus after they decussate in the medulla oblongata 1,2.
The medial lemniscus terminates in the ventral posterior nuclei of the thalamus - ventral posterolateral (VPL) and ventral posteromedial (VPM) - where it synapses with the third-order neurons which transmit information to the postcentral gyrus of the cerebral cortex 1,2.
References
- 1. Chummy S. Sinnatamby. Last's Anatomy. (1999) ISBN: 9780443056116
- 2. Waxman SG. Clinical Neuroanatomy 27/E. (2013) ISBN: 9780071797979 - Google Books
Incoming Links
- Abducens nucleus
- Projection fibres of the brain
- Cranial nerve nuclei
- Hypoglossal nerve
- Gracile fasciculus
- Inferior medial pontine syndrome
- Cuneate fasciculus
- Hypomyelination with brainstem and spinal cord involvement and leg spasticity
- Facial nucleus
- Leukoencephalopathy with brainstem and spinal cord involvement and lactate elevation
- Pons
- Rule of 4 of the brainstem
- Adult polyglucosan body disease
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