Abstract
This chapter develops the anatomofunctional organization of the gray and white matters according to recent neurophysiological data particularly for analysis and rehabilitation of spinal lesions.
The gray matter includes:
-
the central core characterized by a network organization of interneurons in charge of the basic motor and vegetative programmes essential for the locomotion and the survival of the individual,
-
dorsal expansions responsible for treating pain and temperature information by a complex arrangement explaining pain by nociceptive excess and pain by deafferentation.
-
ventral expansions including motoneurons organized in cellular islets whose actions are intended for skeletal musculature and functionally represent a final common pathway responsible for executing all motor orders of segmental reflex expression and of supraspinal origin that intervene on the strength and direction of movement and on the tone that accompanies movement.
The white matter features the passage of fibers from or to the cord, organized in descending and ascending tracts.
The dorsal column carries epicritic and kinesthetic information, the anterolateral funiculus conveys painful and thermal information, and spinocerebellar tracts occupy the lateral column. These ascending systems can be grouped into three systems, one for information, one for programmation, and a non-specific system for alertness, emotional, and vegetative states.
The descending pathways convey the motor orders that respond to conscious, finalized, voluntary, fine and idiokinetic gestures corresponding to pyramidal corticospinal tracts and non-pyramidal tracts that come from suprasegmental formations of the brain stem where cortical and cerebellar influences are relayed and can be grouped into a medial contingent for postural axial extensor tone and a posterolateral contingent that influences the tone of attitude which facilitates flexors of intermediate segments of the limbs. So, in the pathological situation different states of rigidity can be observed depending on the level of impairment creating by their imbalance, decerebration rigidity, or decortication rigidity.
The lesions of these different fascicules of white matter are responsable for sublesional syndromes observed in pathological situations and lesional syndromes reflects the involvement of gray matter.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Rexed B. A cytoarchitectonic atlas of the spinal cord in the cat. J Comp Neurol. 1952;96(3):41595.
Defebre L, Kemoun G. Organisation neuroanatomique et physiologique de la marche. Presse Med. 2001;30(9):44551.
Buchanan JT, McPherson DR. The neural network for locomotion lamprey spinal cord. Evidence for involvement of commissural interneurons. J Physiol. 1995;89:22133.
Kiehn O. Locomotor circuits in the mammalian spinal cord. Annu Rev Neurosci. 2006;29:279306.
Stein PSG. Central pattern generator in the spinal cord. In: Davidoff R, editor. Handbook of the spinal cord, vol. 24. New York: Marcel Dekker; 1984. p. 64772.
Frigon A. Central pattern generators of the mammalian spinal cord. Neuroscientist. 2012;18(1):5669.
Pearson K. The control of walking. Sci Am. 1976;33:7286.
Purves D, Augustine GJ, Fitzpatrick D, Katz LC, Lamantia AS, McNamara WM. Lower motor neuron circuits and motor control. Spinal cord circuitry and locomotion. In: Neuroscience. Sunderland: Sinauer Associates; 2001. p. 36168.
Guerin J, Bioulac B. Organisation anatomique et physiologique de la moelle épinière. Anat Clin. 1979;1:26789.
Richard D, Orsal D. La moelle épinière est le siège d’activités automatiques. In: Neurophysiologie. Motricité et grandes fonctions du système nerveux central. Paris: Nathan; 1994. p. 7194.
Delmas A, Laux G. Systeme nerveux sympathique. Etude macroscopique et systématique. Paris: Masson; 1952.
Guerin J, Bioulac B, Henry P, Loiseau P. Le système nerveux végétatif. Anatomie, physiologie, pathologie. Paris: Sandoz; 1979.
Guerin J. Voies et centres du système nerveux autonome. In: Bossy J, editor. Anatomie clinique neuroanatomie. Paris: Springer; 1990. p. 291303.
Price DD. Dorsal horn mechanisms of pain. In: Davidoff R, editor. Handbook of the spinal cord, vol. 24. New York: Marcel Dekker; 1984. p. 75177.
Melzack R, Wall PD. Pain mechanism. A new theory. Science. 1965;15:97179.
Basbaum AL, Fields HL. Endogenous pain control systems. Brainstem spinal pathways and endorphin circuitry. Annu Rev Neurosci. 1984;7:309–38.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Guérin, J. (2020). The Spinal Cord. In: Vital, J., Cawley, D. (eds) Spinal Anatomy . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20925-4_24
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20925-4_24
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-20924-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-20925-4
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)