Posterolateral tract

The posterolateral tract (fasciculus of Lissauer, Lissauer's tract, tract of Lissauer, dorsolateral fasciculus, dorsolateral tract, zone of Lissauer) is a small strand situated in relation to the tip of the posterior column close to the entrance of the posterior nerve roots. It is present throughout the spinal cord, and is most developed in the upper cervical regions.

Composition and Path

The posterolateral tract contains centrally projecting axons from dorsal root ganglion cells carrying pain and temperature information (location, intensity and quality). These axons enter the spinal column and ascend or descend one or two spinal segments in this tract before penetrating the grey matter of the dorsal horn, where they synapse on second-order neurons. The axons of these second-order neurons cross the midline and ascend in the anterolateral quadrant of the contralateral half of the spinal cord, where they join the spinothalamic tract. The second-order neurons ultimately synapse on neurons in the ventral posterior lateral nucleus (VPL) of the thalamus.