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The Spinal Cord

The Spinal Cord

The spinal cord is the body’s major nerve tract of the central nervous system, communicating afferent sensory information from the periphery to the brain and efferent motor information from the brain to the body. The human spinal cord extends from the hole at the base of the skull, or foramen magnum, to the level of the first or second lumbar vertebra.

Spinal Cord: Gross Anatomy

Spinal Cord: Gross Anatomy

The spinal cord resides within the protective confines of the vertebral column. It is the main pathway for information traveling between the brain and the body. It plays a fundamental role in nearly all bodily functions, from simple reflexes to complex motor movements. The spinal cord begins at the medulla oblongata at the base of the brainstem and extends downward, terminating at the conus medullaris near the first and second lumbar vertebrae. The spinal cord's length in adults is...

Spinal Cord: Cross-sectional Anatomy

Spinal Cord: Cross-sectional Anatomy

The cross-sectional anatomy of the spinal cord offers a detailed view of its complex structure and function within the central nervous system. At the core of the spinal cord lies the gray matter, characterized by its butterfly or "H"-shaped appearance in cross-section. This central region is enveloped by white matter, with the overall structure divided into symmetrical halves by the dorsal median sulcus and the ventral median fissure.
Gray Matter and its Components
Central to the gray matter is...

Spinal Cord

Spinal Cord

The spinal cord, a critical component of the central nervous system, extends from the base of the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column. It is essential for maintaining physical stability and facilitating communication between the brain and peripheral parts of the body.

Vertebral Column: Regions and Curvature

Vertebral Column: Regions and Curvature

The vertebral column or spine is a flexible column that supports the head, neck, and body and allows for their movements. It also protects the spinal cord.
Regions of the Vertebral Column
In an adult, the spine is subdivided into five regions: the cervical, the thoracic, the lumbar, the sacral, and the coccygeal region. The spine initially develops as a series of 33 vertebrae; after 20 years of age, the nine bones in the sacral region, five sacral, and four coccygeal bones fuse to form the...

Spinal Nerves: Anatomy

Spinal Nerves: Anatomy

Spinal nerves are pivotal conduits in the nervous system, bridging the central nervous system (CNS) with the peripheral nervous system (PNS). These nerves enable a complex communication network between the brain, spinal cord, and the rest of the body, facilitating sensory input, motor output, and autonomic functions.
There are 31 bilateral pairs of spinal nerves, each emerging from the spinal cord through the intervertebral foramina—openings between adjacent vertebrae. These nerves are...

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Cellular scaling rules for primate spinal cords.

Mark J Burish¹, J Klint Peebles, Mary K Baldwin

¹Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., USA.

Brain, Behavior and Evolution

|October 8, 2010

Summary

The spinal cord

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Comparative Anatomy
Primate Biology

Background:

The spinal cord serves as a critical sensorimotor interface.
Understanding its scaling with body and brain size is key to neuroscience.
Neuron counts in the spinal cord and brain across species remain poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the relationship between spinal cord cellular composition and body/brain size in primates.
To determine how neuron numbers in the spinal cord and brain scale with body mass and length.
To explore the implications for sensorimotor processing and brain complexity.

Main Methods:

Analyzed the cellular composition of spinal cords from eight primate species.
Quantified neuron numbers in relation to spinal cord length, body mass, and brain mass.

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Utilized allometric scaling principles to model these relationships.

Main Results:

Spinal cord neuron count scales linearly with spinal cord length.
Spinal cord neuron count correlates with body mass to the power of approximately 1/3.
Brain mass scales linearly with spinal cord mass, but brain neuron count increases significantly faster (exponent of 1.7) than spinal cord neuron count.

Conclusions:

Spinal cord scaling is primarily driven by body length, not mass or surface area.
The disproportionately faster addition of neurons to the brain suggests increasing computational complexity.
These findings offer insights into the evolution of sensorimotor systems and primate brain evolution.