Column of Clarke
Encyclopedia
Clarke's column is a group of interneuron
Interneuron
An interneuron is a multipolar neuron which connects afferent neurons and efferent neurons in neural pathways...

s found in Lamina VII, also known as the intermediate zone, of the spinal cord
Spinal cord
The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nervous tissue and support cells that extends from the brain . The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system...

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Anatomy

It occupies the medial part of the base of the posterior horn and appears on the transverse section as a well-defined oval area.

It begins below at the level of the second or third lumbar nerve, and reaches its maximum size opposite the twelfth thoracic nerve. Above the level of the ninth thoracic nerve its size diminishes, and the column ends opposite the last cervical or first thoracic nerve.

It is represented, however, in the other regions by scattered cells, which become aggregated to form a cervical nucleus opposite the third cervical nerve, and a sacral nucleus in the middle and lower part of the sacral region.

Nerve cells in Clarke’s column are most abundant between the lower thoracic and upper lumbar segments. Cell bodies are of medium size and oval- or pyriform-shape.

Function

Clarke’s column is a major relay center for unconscious proprioception
Proprioception
Proprioception , from Latin proprius, meaning "one's own" and perception, is the sense of the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body and strength of effort being employed in movement...

. Sensory information from muscle spindles and tendon organs is carried by axons of larger neurons in posterior root ganglia, which synapse onto neurons in the spinal cord including cells in Clarke’s column. From Clarke’s column, information continues rostrally until it reaches the cerebellar cortex. This relay pathway is generally known as the dorsal spinocerebellar tract
Spinocerebellar tract
The spinocerebellar tract is a set of axonal fibers originating in the spinal cord and terminating in the ipsilateral cerebellum. This tract conveys information to the cerebellum about limb and joint position ....

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External links

  • http://isc.temple.edu/neuroanatomy/lab/atlas/L3/
  • http://www.neuroanatomy.wisc.edu/sc97/text/p3/Pathway.htm
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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