Point 4 Intro Pathway Deficit Note Overview Problems Contents Anatomy

Axons of cells within nucleus gracilis and nucleus cuneatus cross as internal arcuate fibers and form the MEDIAL LEMNISCUS. The medial lemniscus is thus a large ascending bundle of heavily myelinated axons (fast conducting) whose cell bodies lie in the contralateral nucleus gracilis and nucleus cuneatus. The medial lemniscus passes rostrally through the medulla, pons and midbrain to terminates in the ventral posterolateral (VPL) nucleus of the thalamus. Cells in the VPL then send their axons to the postcentral gyrus (somatosensory cortex) of the cerebral cortex (areas 3, 1, 2).