| nucleus tractus solitarii | A slender cell column extending sagittally through the dorsal part of the medulla oblongata, beneath the floor of the rhomboid fossa, immediately lateral to the limiting sulcus. It is the visceral sensory (visceral afferent) nucleus of the brainstem, receiving the afferent fibres of the vagus, glossopharyngeal, and facial nerves by way of the solitary tract. The caudal two-thirds of the nucleus processes impulses originating in the pharynx, larynx, intestinal and respiratory tracts, and heart and large blood vessels; its rostral one-third receives impulses from the taste buds and is known as the rhombencephalic gustatory nucleus. Synonym: nucleus tractus solitarii. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| tractus | Synonym: tract. Origin: L. A drawing, drawing out, extent, tract, fr. Traho, pp. Tractus, to draw (05 Mar 2000) |
| tractus centralis tegmenti | A large fibre bundle passing longitudinally through the central mesencephalic and pontine tegmentum, distinguished from adjacent longitudinal groups of fibre-fascicles of the reticular formation by a more compact composition. In transverse sections of the mesencephalon the bundle occupies a large triangular area lateral to the medial longitudinal fasciculus; farther caudally it expands ventralward and finally passes over the lateral side of the (inferior) olivary nucleus, becoming part of the latter's fibre capsule. The bundle contains fibres from the mesencephalic tegmentum and regions surrounding the central gray substance descending to the olivary nucleus; it also includes numerous fibres ascending from the medullary, pontine, and mesencephalic reticular formation to the thalamus and subthalamus region. Synonym: tractus tegmentalis centralis, central tegmental fasciculus, tractus centralis tegmenti. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tractus cerebellorubralis | That component of the superior cerebellar peduncle (brachium conjunctivum) which distributes fibres within the red nucleus of the opposite side. Synonym: tractus cerebellorubralis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tractus cerebellothalamicus | That component of the superior cerebellar peduncle (brachium conjunctivum) which originates in the cerebellar nuclei, crosses completely in the decussation of the brachia conjunctiva, bypasses the red nucleus, and terminates in parts of the ventral anterior, ventral intermediate, ventral posterolateral, and central lateral nuclei of the thalamus. Synonym: tractus cerebellothalamicus, dentatothalamic tract. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tractus corticobulbaris | <physiology> Collective term for those fibres (corticonuclear fibres) which separate from the corticospinal tract in the course of the latter's descent through the pons and medulla oblongata. Fibres of this tract innervate the motor nuclei of the trigeminal, facial, and hypoglossal nerves (perhaps also the nucleus ambiguus), directly and by way of interneurons in the lateral part of the rhombencephalic tegmentum. No direct supranuclear cortical innervation of the motor nuclei innervating the external eye muscles (oculomotor, trochlear, abducens) has been identified. Fibres of the corticobulbar tract also project into the formatio reticularis (i.e., corticoreticular fibres) and terminate upon sensory relay nuclei (e.g., gracile and cuneate nuclei, nucleus spinalis trigeminalis and nucleus solitarius). Synonym: tractus corticobulbaris. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tractus corticopontini | <anatomy, physiology> Collective term for the multitude of fibres which, originating in all of the major subdivisions of the cerebral cortex, descend in the internal capsule and crus cerebri to terminate in the nuclei of the ventral part of the pons. Individual components of this massive fibre system are indicated, according to their origin in the cerebral cortex, as the frontopontine tract, parietopontine tract, occipitopontine tract, and temporopontine tract. Synonym: tractus corticopontini. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tractus corticospinalis | A massive bundle of fibres originating from pyramidal cells of various sizes in the fifth layer of the precentral motor (area 4), the premotor area (area 6), and to a lesser extent from the postcentral gyrus. Cells of origin in area 4 include the gigantopyramidal cells of Betz. Fibres from these cortical regions descend through the internal capsule, the middle third of the crus cerebri, and the ventral part of the pons to emerge on the ventral surface of the medulla oblongata as the pyramis. Continuing caudally, most of the fibres cross to the opposite side in the pyramidal decussation and descend in the dorsal half of the lateral funiculus of the spinal cord as the lateral pyramidal tract, which distributes its fibres throughout the length of the spinal cord to interneurons of the zona intermedia of the spinal gray matter. In the (extremity-related) spinal cord enlargements, fibres also pass directly to motoneuronal groups that innervate distal extremity muscles subserving particular hand-and-finger or foot-and-toe movements. The uncrossed fibres form a small bundle, the anterior pyramidal tract, which descends in the anterior funiculus of the spinal cord and terminates in synaptic contact with interneurons in the medial half of the anterior horn on both sides of the spinal cord. Interruption of the pyramidal tract at or below its cortical origin causes impairment of movement in the opposite body-half, especially severe in the arm and leg; characterised by muscular weakness, spasticity and hyperreflexia, and a loss of discrete finger and hand movements. Babinski's sign is associated with this condition of hemiplegia. Synonym: tractus corticospinalis, tractus pyramidalis, corticospinal tract. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tractus corticospinalis anterior | Uncrossed fibres forming a small bundle in the pyramidal tract. See: pyramidal tract. Synonym: tractus corticospinalis anterior, tractus pyramidalis anterior, anterior corticospinal tract, anterior pyramidal fasciculus, direct pyramidal tract, fasciculus corticospinalis anterior, fasciculus pyramidalis anterior, Turck's bundle, Turck's column, Turck's tract. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tractus corticospinalis lateralis | Those fibres of the pyramidal tract that cross to the opposite side in the pyramidal decussation and descend in the dorsal half of the lateral funiculus of the spinal cord; they are distributed throughout the length of the spinal cord to interneurons of the zona intermedia of the spinal gray matter. See: pyramidal tract. Synonym: tractus corticospinalis lateralis, tractus pyramidalis lateralis, crossed pyramidal tract, fasciculus corticospinalis lateralis, fasciculus pyramidalis lateralis, lateral corticospinal tract, lateral pyramidal fasciculus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tractus dorsolateralis | A longitudinal bundle of thin, unmyelinated and poorly myelinated fibres capping the apex of the posterior horn of the spinal gray matter, composed of posterior root fibres and short association fibres that interconnect neighboring segments of the posterior horn. Synonym: fasciculus dorsolateralis, tractus dorsolateralis, dorsolateral tract, fasciculus marginalis, Lissauer's bundle, Lissauer's column, Lissauer's fasciculus, Lissauer's marginal zone, Lissauer's tract, marginal fasciculus, Spitzka's marginal tract, Spitzka's marginal zone, Waldeyer's tract, Waldeyer's zonal layer. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tractus fastigiobulbaris | A fibre bundle originating in the fastigial nucleus (nucleus tecti) of both sides, passing out of the cerebellum in the inferior cerebellar peduncle (corpus restiforme), and distributing its fibres to the vestibular nuclei and other cell groups in the medulla oblongata. Prominent crossed fibres loop over the dorsal surface of the superior cerebellar peduncle before turning ventrally, forming the uncinate bundle of Russell. Synonym: tractus fastigiobulbaris. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tractus frontopontinus | A large group of fibres arising from the frontal lobe of the cerebral hemisphere, especially the precentral gyrus, descending in the capsula interna, farther caudally composing the medial part of the crus cerebri in which they extend caudalward to end in the gray matter (pontine nuclei) of the ventral part of the pons. Synonym: tractus frontopontinus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tractus habenulopeduncularis | tractus habenulopeduncularis |
| tractus iliotibialis | A fibrous reinforcement of the fascia lata on the lateral surface of the thigh, extending from the crest of the ilium to the lateral condyle of the tibia. Synonym: tractus iliotibialis, iliotibial band, Maissiat's band. (05 Mar 2000) |