Ventral trigeminal tract - Misplaced Pages

Tract composed of second-order neuronal axons

Ventral trigeminal tract
Details
System	Sensory system
From	head, face, and oral cavity via principal (chief sensory) nucleus and spinal trigeminal nucleus
To	ventral posteromedial (VPM) nucleus of the thalamus
Function	carry sensory information about discriminative and crude touch, conscious proprioception, pain, and temperature from the head, face, and oral cavity
Identifiers
Latin	tractus trigeminalis ventralis
NeuroNames	613
TA98	A14.1.05.311
TA2	5863
FMA	72506
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy[edit on Wikidata]

The ventral trigeminal tract, ventral trigeminothalamic tract, anterior trigeminal tract, or anterior trigeminothalamic tract, is a tract composed of second-order neuronal axons. These afferent fibers carry sensory information about discriminative and crude touch, conscious proprioception, pain, and temperature from the head, face, and oral cavity. The ventral trigeminal tract connects the two major components of the brainstem trigeminal complex – the principal, or main sensory nucleus and the spinal trigeminal nucleus, to the ventral posteromedial nucleus of the thalamus.

The ventral trigeminal tract is also called the anterior trigeminal lemniscus.

Structure

The first-order neurons from the trigeminal ganglion enter the pons and synapse in the principal (chief sensory) nucleus or spinal trigeminal nucleus. Axons of the second-order neurons cross the midline and terminate in the ventral posteromedial nucleus of the contralateral thalamus (as opposed to the ventral posterolateral nucleus, as in the dorsal column medial lemniscus (DCML) system). The third order neuron in the thalamus then connects to the sensory cortex of the postcentral gyrus.

References

Purves, Dale (2012). Neuroscience (5th ed.). Sinauer Associates. p. 200. ISBN 9780878936953.
Anthoney, T. R. (1993). Neuroanatomy and the neurologic exam: a thesaurus of synonyms, similar-sounding non-synonyms, and terms of variable meaning. CRC Press.

Sources

Anthoney, T. R. (1993). Neuroanatomy and the neurologic exam: a thesaurus of synonyms, similar-sounding non-synonyms, and terms of variable meaning. CRC Press.
Norton, N. S. (2016). Netter's head and neck anatomy for dentistry. Elsevier Health Sciences.

External links

Anatomy of the pons

Dorsal/
(tegmentum)

Surface

White: Sensory

White: Motor

Grey: Cranial nuclei

afferent:	GSA Trigeminal Principal Spinal Cochlear nucleus Dorsal Anterior Vestibular nuclei Superior
efferent:	SVE: Trigeminal motor nucleus Facial motor nucleus GSE: Abducens nucleus GVE: Superior salivary nucleus Inferior salivary nucleus

Grey: Other nuclei

Ventral/
(base)

Grey	Pontine nuclei
White: Motor/descending	Corticospinal tract Corticobulbar tract Corticopontine fibers MCP Pontocerebellar fibers
Surface	Basilar sulcus

Other grey: Raphe/
reticular

Anatomy of the midbrain

Tectum
(Dorsal)

Corpora quadrigemina

Grey matter

Pretectal area

White matter

Sensory / ascending	Spinotectal tract Central tegmental tract
Motor / descending	Tectospinal tract

CSF

Cerebral aqueduct

Peduncle
(Ventral)

Tegmentum

White matter

Sensory / ascending	Lemnisci Medial Lateral Ascending MLF Vestibulo-oculomotor fibers Spinothalamic tract Ventral trigeminal tract Dentatothalamic tract
Motor / descending	Rubrospinal tract Rubro-olivary tract Descending MLF

Grey matter

cranial nuclei	GSA Mesencephalic GSE Oculomotor nucleus Trochlear nucleus GVE Edinger–Westphal nucleus
Ventral tegmental area	Rostromedial tegmental nucleus
Periaqueductal gray Red nucleus Rostral interstitial nucleus of medial longitudinal fasciculus Parabrachial area Interpeduncular nucleus
Midbrain reticular formation	Dorsal tegmental nucleus Raphe nuclei dorsal Reticulotegmental nucleus

Base

White / Cerebral crus	Pyramidal tracts Corticospinal tract Corticobulbar tract Corticopontine tract Frontopontine fibers Temporopontine fibers
Grey / Substantia nigra	Pars compacta Pars reticulata
Surface	Superior cerebellar peduncle Decussation Interpeduncular fossa

Anatomy of the diencephalon of the human brain

Epithalamus

Surface	Pineal gland Habenula Habenular trigone Habenular commissure
Grey matter	Pretectal area Habenular nuclei Subcommissural organ

Thalamus

Surface

Grey matter/
nuclei

paired: AN
Ventral
- VA/VL
- VP/VPM/VPL
Lateral
- LD
- LP
- Pulvinar nuclei
Metathalamus
- MG
- LG
  - P cell
  - M cell
  - K cell

White matter

Medullary laminae

Surface

Autonomic zones

afferent
efferent
- Mammillothalamic tract
- Dorsal longitudinal fasciculus

Pituitary

Posterior is diencephalon, but anterior is glandular

Subthalamus

Brain and spinal cord: neural tracts and fasciculi

Sensory

DCML

1°:	Pacinian corpuscle/Meissner's corpuscle → Posterior column (Gracile fasciculus/Cuneate fasciculus) → Gracile nucleus/Cuneate nucleus
2°:	→ sensory decussation/arcuate fibers (Posterior external arcuate fibers, Internal arcuate fibers) → Medial lemniscus/Trigeminal lemniscus → Thalamus (VPL, VPM)
3°:	→ Posterior limb of internal capsule → Postcentral gyrus

Anterolateral/
pain

Fast/lateral

1° (Free nerve ending → A delta fiber) → 2° (Anterior white commissure → Lateral and Anterior Spinothalamic tract → Spinal lemniscus → VPL of Thalamus) → 3° (Postcentral gyrus) → 4° (Posterior parietal cortex)

2° (Spinomesencephalic tract → Superior colliculus of Midbrain tectum)

Slow/medial

1° (Group C nerve fiber → Spinoreticular tract → Reticular formation) → 2° (MD of Thalamus) → 3° (Cingulate cortex)

Motor

Pyramidal

flexion: Primary motor cortex → Posterior limb of internal capsule → Decussation of pyramids → Corticospinal tract (Lateral, Anterior) → Neuromuscular junction

Extrapyramidal

flexion:	Primary motor cortex → Genu of internal capsule → Corticobulbar tract → Facial motor nucleus → Facial muscles
flexion:	Red nucleus → Rubrospinal tract
extension:	Vestibulocerebellum → Vestibular nuclei → Vestibulospinal tract
extension:	Vestibulocerebellum → Reticular formation → Reticulospinal tract
Midbrain tectum → Tectospinal tract → muscles of neck

Basal ganglia

direct:	1° (Motor cortex → Striatum) → 2° (GPi) → 3° (Lenticular fasciculus/Ansa lenticularis → Thalamic fasciculus → VL of Thalamus) → 4° (Thalamocortical radiations → Supplementary motor area) → 5° (Motor cortex)
indirect:	1° (Motor cortex → Striatum) → 2° (GPe) → 3° (Subthalamic fasciculus → Subthalamic nucleus) → 4° (Subthalamic fasciculus → GPi) → 5° (Lenticular fasciculus/Ansa lenticularis → Thalamic fasciculus → VL of Thalamus) → 6° (Thalamocortical radiations → Supplementary motor area) → 7° (Motor cortex)
nigrostriatal pathway:	Pars compacta → Striatum