Lateral horn of spinal cord
Cornu lateralis medullae spinalis
- Latin synonym: Columna grisea lateralis
- Related terms: Lateral horn
Definition
Lateral horn of spinal cord refers to a lateral projection of the lateral intermediate gray matter (lamina VII). It is present only in the thoracic and upper lumbar spinal segments (T1 to L2) and, as such, does not extend the entire length of the spinal cord.
The lateral horn of spinal cord houses a cluster of neuronal cell bodies collectively known as the intermediolateral nucleus, which spans segments T1 to L2. These neurons are the origin of preganglionic sympathetic efferent fibers, which project outward to the sympathetic chain ganglia located on either side of the vertebral column. Within the sympathetic chain, preganglionic fibers may synapse directly in the adjacent ganglion, or they may ascend or descend along the chain to synapse in ganglia above or below, enabling sympathetic outflow to reach the cervical and pelvic regions.
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 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/
