Head of posterior horn - Spinal cord - Grey substance - e-Anatomy
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Head of posterior horn

Caput cornus posterioris

  • Latin synonym: Caput columnae posterioris
  • Related terms: Head

Definition

Muhammad A. Javaid

The head of posterior horn refers to the posterior region–just beneath the tip–of the posterior or dorsal horn of spinal cord.

  • The head mainly corresponds with Rexed laminae III and IV. The major sensory nucleus residing inside the head of posterior horn includes the nucleus proprius, which is situated in the lamina III and IV, with a small extension into the neck region (lamina V).

  • Lamina II, often referred to as the substantia gelatinosa, caps the head of the posterior horn and is sometimes considered part of the head itself. The substantia gelatinosa is a key structure in processing pain and temperature sensory information from afferent (first-order) neurons.

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The head of posterior horn, along with its nuclei, extends throughout the entire length of the spinal cord. While the substantia gelatinosa processes pain and temperature inputs, the nucleus proprius plays a role in processing sensory information related to vibration, proprioception, and two-point discrimination. This information is conveyed by collaterals of ascending first-order neurons from the dorsal column.

First-order neurons enter the spinal cord segments via the dorsal nerve roots to reach the head of posterior horn.

References

  • Snell, R.S. (2010). ‘Chapter 4: The Spinal Cord and the Ascending and Descending Tracts’, in Clinical Neuroanatomy. (7th ed.) Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, pp. 137-142.

  • Byrne, J.H. and Dafny, N. ‘Chapter 2: Anatomy of the Spinal Cord. [Content reviewed and revised 07 Oct 2020]. In Neuroanatomy Online, an open-access electronic laboratory for the neurosciences. McGovern Medical School at UTHealth; Accessed 2022 Oct 22. Available from: https://nba.uth.tmc.edu/neuroscience/m/s2/chapter03.html

  • Brown, A.G. (1982). Review article the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology: Translation and Integration, 67(2), pp.193-212. https://doi.org/10.1113/expphysiol.1982.sp002630

  • Ganapathy, M.K., Reddy, V. and Tadi, P. Neuroanatomy, Spinal Cord Morphology. [Updated 2021 Oct 30]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK545206/

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