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Brain, Vol. 124, No. 4, 793-803, April 2001
© 2001 Oxford University Press

The crossing of the spinothalamic tract

P. W. Nathan, Marion Smith{dagger}, and Patricia Deacon

The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London and Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, UK {dagger} Deceased

Correspondence to: Dr P. W. Nathan, The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK

The question whether the spinothalamic and spinoreticular fibres cross the cord transversely or diagonally was investigated in cases of anterolateral cordotomy and in a case of thrombosis of the anterior spinal artery. The pattern of sensory loss following transection of the anterolateral quadrant of the cord consists of a narrow area of decreased nociception and thermanalgesia at the level of the incision; it extends for 1–2 segments cranial and cordal to the incision. This area is immediately cranial to the area of total loss of these modalities. This pattern of sensory loss is explained as follows. The cordotomy incision transects two groups of fibres: those that are already within the anterior and anterolateral funiculi and those that are crossing the cord. The area of total thermanaesthesia and analgesia is due to transection of fibres that are already within this region. The area of partial sensory loss is due to transection of the fibres that are crossing the cord at that level. Owing to the craniocaudal extent of the branches of the dorsal roots, there is an overlap of their collaterals that results in every spinothalamic neurone receiving an input from several dorsal roots. The narrow cordotomy incision thus divides the few fibres crossing at that level, causing diminished noxious and thermal sensibility over a few segments above and below the incision. These facts can be accounted for only on the assumption that these spinothalamic fibres are crossing the cord transversely. This evidence of transverse crossing was found in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar segments. There were three of 63 cordotomies for which this explanation of the partial sensory loss could not be maintained. Although no explanation has been suggested, this is unlikely to be due to the fibres crossing the cord diagonally.


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Crossing of the Spinothalamic System
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