In the spinal cord, which tract carries crude touch and proprioception from the body to the brain?

In the spinal cord, which tract carries crude touch and proprioception from the body to the brain?

• A. Spinothalamic tract
• B. Dorsal column-medial lemniscus pathway
• C. Corticospinal tract
• D. Rubrospinal tract

Answer: (B)

Proprioception and precise, discriminative touch are carried by the dorsal column–medial lemniscus pathway. Sensory fibers enter the spinal cord through the dorsal roots and travel up in the dorsal columns—fasciculus gracilis for the lower body and fasciculus cuneatus for the upper body. They synapse in the caudal medulla (nucleus gracilis and nucleus cuneatus), cross over, and form the medial lemniscus to reach the thalamus, then the somatosensory cortex. Crude touch and pain/temperature, by contrast, travel via the spinothalamic tract, while the corticospinal and rubrospinal tracts are motor pathways. So, for proprioception, the dorsal column–medial lemniscus pathway is the correct one.

Proprioception and precise, discriminative touch are carried by the dorsal column–medial lemniscus pathway. Sensory fibers enter the spinal cord through the dorsal roots and travel up in the dorsal columns—fasciculus gracilis for the lower body and fasciculus cuneatus for the upper body. They synapse in the caudal medulla (nucleus gracilis and nucleus cuneatus), cross over, and form the medial lemniscus to reach the thalamus, then the somatosensory cortex. Crude touch and pain/temperature, by contrast, travel via the spinothalamic tract, while the corticospinal and rubrospinal tracts are motor pathways. So, for proprioception, the dorsal column–medial lemniscus pathway is the correct one.