Spinothalamic tract
The spinothalamic tract is a part of the anterolateral system or the ventrolateral system, a sensory pathway to the thalamus. From the ventral posterolateral nucleus in the thalamus, sensory information is relayed upward to the somatosensory cortex of the postcentral gyrus.
| Spinothalamic tract | |
|---|---|
Diagram of the main tracts within the spinal cord - spinothalamic fasciculus is labelled at bottom left | |
| Details | |
| Part of | Spinal cord |
| System | Somatosensory system |
| Decussation | Anterior white commissure |
| Parts | Anterior and lateral tracts |
| From | Skin |
| To | Thalamus |
| Artery | Anterior spinal artery |
| Function | Gross touch and temperature |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | Tractus spinothalamicus |
| MeSH | D013133 |
| NeuroNames | 2058, 810 |
| TA98 | A14.1.04.138 |
| TA2 | 6102 |
| FMA | 72644 |
| Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy | |
The spinothalamic tract consists of two adjacent pathways: anterior and lateral. The anterior spinothalamic tract carries information about crude touch. The lateral spinothalamic tract conveys pain and temperature.
In the spinal cord, the spinothalamic tract has somatotopic organization. This is the segmental organization of its cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacral components, which is arranged from most medial to most lateral respectively.
The pathway crosses over (decussates) at the level of the spinal cord, rather than in the brainstem like the dorsal column-medial lemniscus pathway and lateral corticospinal tract. It is one of the three tracts which make up the anterolateral system.