Medial reticulospinal tract
Tractus reticulospinalis medialis
- Latin synonym: Tractus pontoreticulospinalis
- Synonym: Pontoreticulospinal tract
- Related terms: Pontoreticulospinal tract; Medial reticulospinal tract
Definition
Medial reticulospinal tract (a.k.a. pontine reticulospinal tract) is a descending motor pathway that extends from the medial reticular formation in the pons, to the anterior horns of spinal cord.
The reticular formation refers to a meshwork of nerve cells and fibers situated throughout the brainstem. The medial reticulospinal tract originates from the medial or pontine reticular formation. It descends uncrossed in the anterior funiculus (or anterior white column) and terminates in the anterior horns of spinal cord, where it influences alpha and gamma motor neurons to facilitate postural tone and movement.
Some descending autonomic fibers from hypothalamus also descend within the reticulospinal fibers to regulate thoracolumbar sympathetic and the parasympathetic sacral outflows.
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. 157-158.
Sengul, G. and Watson, C. (2012). ‘Chapter 7: Spinal Cord: Connections’, in The Human Nervous System. (3rd ed.), Editor(s): K Mai, J. and Paxinos, G. Academic Press, pp. 233-258. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-374236-0.10007-0
