Anterior fasciculus proprius
Fasciculus proprius anterior
- Synonym: Ventral fasciculus proprius
- Related terms: Anterior fasciculus proprius; Ventral fasciculus proprius
Definition
Anterior fasciculus proprius (a.k.a. anterior propriospinal tract) is a short bundle of nerve fibers located within the anterior funiculus, adjacent to the anterior gray horns. These propriospinal neurons originate from cells inside the gray matter, branching into both ascending and descending fibers within the inner part of the anterior funiculus. After travelling up and down a few segments of the cord, they re-enter the gray matter to synapse. This forms the anterior propriospinal tract, an intrinsic spinal cord pathway that links different spinal segments, enabling intersegmental communication.
Similar propriospinal tracts reside in the posterior and lateral funiculi, named the posterior fasciculus proprius and the lateral fasciculus proprius, also play key roles in intersegmental coordination, faciliatating integration across spinal cord segments.
References
Standring, S. and Gray, H. (2016). ‘Chapter 20: Spinal cord: Internal Organization’ in Gray’s anatomy The anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice. (41st ed.) New York: Elsevier, pp. 296.
Wikipedia. Proper fasciculi. [Updated 2018 Jun 01]. In: Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proper_fasciculi
