Intermediolateral nucleus - Eye - Nerves - e-Anatomy
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Intermediolateral nucleus

Nucleus intermediolateralis

  • Related terms: Intermediolateral nucleus (Spinal cord)

Definition

The intermediolateral nucleus is an aggregation of neuronal cell bodies that is situated in the lateral horn of spinal cord. It extends from C8 to L3 segments of the spinal cord. The nucleus gives rise to preganglionic sympathetic neuronal efferents, which reach out to the sympathetic chain ganglia on either side of the vertebral column. Within the sympathetic chain, the preganglionic neurons either synapse immediately within the ganglia or ascend and descend in the sympathetic chain to synapse with cervical and sacral ganglia for innervating the cervical and pelvic regions, respectively.

Please note that the lateral horn of spinal cord refers to a lateral sideways extension of the lateral intermediate substance (lamina VII). The lateral horn is found only in the thoracic and upper lumbar spinal segments (T1 to L2), hence, explaining why the intermediolateral nucleus does NOT extend throughout the length of the spinal cord.

References

Text written by Muhammad A. Javaid, MD, PhD © 2022 IMAIOS.

  • 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 3: 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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