Trunk nerves (intercostal, sympathetic, vagus nerve)
Anterior fasciculus proprius
Fasciculus proprius anterior
- Origin
- Thin sleeve of short fibres immediately around the grey matter, on the front of the cord
- Insertion
- Runs up and down over a few segments and ends again in the grey matter of a neighbouring segment
- Function
- Propriospinal tract that links the segments to each other, so that postural reflexes and movement patterns work together across several levels without involving the brain
- Innervation
- Intrinsic to the spinal cord
- Movement & chain
- Links the anterior horn cells of successive segments
- Palpation
- Not palpable
- Clinical
- It is spared more often than the long tracts in an incomplete cord injury and therefore contributes to the recovery of coordinated movement patterns. This intersegmental linkage is also the basis of the central pattern generators for rhythmic walking.
- Segmental innervation
- Along the whole length C1-Co1
- In clinical practice
- Relevant in rehabilitation after an incomplete cord injury, where gait training relies on exactly this intersegmental linkage
- Region in the model
- Trunk nerves (intercostal, sympathetic, vagus nerve)