Fasciculus gracilis

Fasciculus gracilis
Fasciculus cuneatus is 3a, in blue at upper right.
Diagram of the principal fasciculi of the spinal cord.
Latin	f. gracilis medullae spinalis
Gray's	subject #185 762
Dorlands/Elsevier	f_03/12355926

The fasciculus gracilis (tract of Goll) is a bundle of nerve fibres in the spinal cord that carries information about fine touch from the lower part of the body.

The fasciculus gracilis is wedge-shaped on transverse section, and lies next the posterior median septum, its base being at the surface of the medulla spinalis, and its apex directed toward the posterior gray commissure.

It increases in size from below upward, and consists of long thin fibers which are derived from the posterior nerve roots, and ascend as far as the medulla oblongata, where they end in the nucleus gracilis. It brings in sensory impulses from lower body.

The tract of Goll was named after Swiss neuroanatomist Friedrich Goll (1829–1903).

Additional images

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  Decussation of pyramids.

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  Superficial dissection of brain-stem. Lateral view.

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  Superior terminations of the posterior fasciculi of the medulla spinalis.

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  The sensory tract.

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  Upper part of medulla spinalis and hind- and mid-brains; posterior aspect, exposed in situ.

External links

• gracile+fasciculus at eMedicine Dictionary
• Neuroanatomy at UW sc97/text/p1/Pathway.htm

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.