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Rubrospinal tract

Rubrospinal tract

Rubrospinal tract is 2a, in red at left.

Schematic representation of the chief ganglionic categories (Rubrospinal tract not labeled, but red nucleus visible near center)
Latin	tractus rubrospinalis
Gray's	subject #192 870
Dorlands/Elsevier	t_15/12817153

The rubrospinal tract is a part of the nervous system. It is a part of the lateral indirect extra-pyramidal tract.

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Function

It is an alternative route for the mediation of voluntary movement. It is responsible for large muscle movement such as the arms and the legs as well as for fine motor control. It facilitates the flexion and inhibits the extension in the upper extremities.

It is small and rudimentary in humans. In some other primates, however, experiments have shown that over time, the rubrospinal tract can assume almost all the duties of the corticospinal tract when the corticospinal tract is lesioned.

Path

In the midbrain, it originates in the red nucleus, crosses to the other side of the midbrain, and descends in the lateral part of the brainstem tegmentum.

In the spinal cord, it travels through the lateral funiculus of the spinal cord in the company with the lateral corticospinal tract.

v • d • e Anatomy of torso (primarily): the spinal cord
Spinal nerve	Dorsal (Root, Ganglion, Ramus) • Ventral (Root, Ramus) • Sympathetic trunk • rami communicantes (Gray, White)
Gray matter/Rexed laminae	Posterior horn (Column of Clarke, Substantia gelatinosa of Rolando, Nucleus proprius) • Lateral horn • Anterior horn • Central canal/Substantia gelatinosa centralis
White matter: somatic/ascending (blue)	Posterior/PCML: Gracilis • Cuneatus Lateral: Spinocerebellar (Dorsal, Ventral) • Spinothalamic (Lateral, Anterior) • Spinotectal • Posterolateral (Lissauer)
White matter: motor/descending (red)	Lateral: Corticospinal (Lateral) • Ep (Rubrospinal, Olivospinal) Anterior: Corticospinal (Anterior) • Ep (Vestibulospinal, Tectospinal, Reticulospinal)
Layers	Epidural space • Dura mater • Subdural space • Arachnoid mater • Subarachnoid space • Pia mater
Other structures	Denticulate ligaments • Conus medullaris • Cauda equina • Filum terminale • Cervical enlargement • Lumbar enlargement • Anterior median fissure

v • d • e Brain: rhombencephalon (hindbrain)
Myelencephalon/medulla	anterior/ventral: Arcuate nucleus of medulla • Pyramid (Decussation) • Olivary body • Inferior olivary nucleus • Anterior median fissure • Ventral respiratory group posterior/dorsal: VII,IX,X: Solitary/tract • XII, X: Dorsal • IX,X,XI: Ambiguus • IX: Inferior salivatory nucleus • Gracile nucleus/Cuneate nucleus/Accessory cuneate nucleus • Area postrema • Posterior median sulcus • Dorsal respiratory group raphe/reticular: Sensory decussation • Reticular formation (Gigantocellular nucleus, Parvocellular reticular nucleus, Ventral reticular nucleus, Lateral reticular nucleus, Paramedian reticular nucleus) • Raphe nuclei (Obscurus, Magnus, Pallidus) tracts: Corticospinal tract (Lateral, Anterior) • Inferior cerebellar peduncle • Olivocerebellar tract • Spinocerebellar (Dorsal, Ventral) • Spinothalamic tract • PCML (Posterior external arcuate fibers, Internal arcuate fibers, Medial lemniscus) • Extrapyramidal (Rubrospinal tract, Vestibulospinal tract, Tectospinal tract)
Metencephalon/pons	anterior/ventral: Superior olivary nucleus • Basis pontis (Pontine nuclei, Middle cerebellar peduncles) posterior/dorsal: Pontine tegmentum (Trapezoid body, Superior medullary velum, Locus ceruleus, MLF, Vestibulocerebellar tract, V Principal Spinal & Motor, VI, VII, VII: Superior salivary nucleus) • VIII-c (Dorsal, Anterior)/VIII-v (Lateral, Superior, Medial, Inferior) raphe/reticular: Reticular formation (Caudal pontine reticular nucleus, Oral pontine reticular nucleus, Tegmental pontine reticular nucleus, Paramedian pontine reticular formation) • Median raphe nucleus Apneustic center • Pneumotaxic center
Metencephalon/cerebellum	Vermis • Flocculus • Arbor vitae • Cerebellar tonsil • Inferior medullary velum Molecular layer (Stellate cell, Basket cell, Parallel fiber) • Purkinje cell layer (Purkinje cell) • Granule cell layer (Golgi cell) • Mossy fibers • Climbing fiber Deep cerebellar nuclei (Dentate, Emboliform, Globose, Fastigial)
Fourth ventricle	apertures (Median, Lateral) • Rhomboid fossa (Vagal trigone, Hypoglossal trigone, Obex, Sulcus limitans, Facial colliculus, Medial eminence) • Lateral recess

Category: Central nervous system pathways

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Rubrospinal_tract". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.