Nucleus gracilis
Last edit by Alaric Steinmetz on
Synonyms: Gracile nucleus, Goll Kern, Goll's nucleus
The nucleus gracilis is part of the medial lemniscus system, which transmits fine discriminative mechanosensory information from the mechanoreceptors and proprioception from the spinal cord to the brain.
Anatomy
The paired nucleus gracilis is located in the caudal and dorsal part of the medulla oblongata. It lies adjacent to the midline, directly medial to the nucleus cuneatus[^1].
Afferents
In the nucleus gracilis, the fibers of the fasciculus gracilis end.
Efferents
The nucleus gracilis contains glutamatergic neurons, from which the axons form the medial lemniscus, crossing contralaterally in the decussation of the medial lemniscus and ascending to the thalamus and primarily terminating in the nucleus ventralis posterolateralis[^2].
Clinical Relevance
Lesions in the caudal and dorsal part of the medulla oblongata, which lie in the region of the nucleus gracilis, lead to a disturbance in proprioception, stereognosis and vibration sensation in the ipsilateral lower extremity[^2].
Illustration
