A funiculus or column is a small bundle of

axon An axon (from Greek ἄξων ''áxōn'', axis), or nerve fiber (or nerve fibre: see spelling differences), is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, in vertebrates, that typically conducts electrical impulses known as action p ...

s (nerve fibres), enclosed by the

perineurium The perineurium is a protective sheath that surrounds a nerve fascicle. This bundles together axons targeting the same anatomical location. The perineurium is composed from fibroblasts. In the peripheral nervous system, the myelin sheath of each ...

. A small nerve may consist of a single funiculus, but a larger nerve will have several funiculi collected together into larger bundles known as fascicles. Fascicles are bound together in a common membrane, the

epineurium The epineurium is the outermost layer of dense irregular connective tissue surrounding a peripheral nerve. It usually surrounds multiple nerve fascicles as well as blood vessels which supply the nerve. Smaller branches of these blood vessels pe ...

. Funiculi in the spinal cord are portions of

white matter White matter refers to areas of the central nervous system (CNS) that are mainly made up of myelinated axons, also called tracts. Long thought to be passive tissue, white matter affects learning and brain functions, modulating the distributi ...

. Examples include: *

Anterior funiculus In the spinal cord, the most lateral of the bundles of the ventral nerve roots is generally taken as a dividing line that separates the antero-lateral region into two parts: an anterior funiculus (or anterior column), between the anterior median ...

of the spinal cord *

Lateral funiculus The most lateral of the bundles of the anterior nerve roots is generally taken as a dividing line that separates the anterolateral system The spinothalamic tract is a part of the anterolateral system or the ventrolateral system, a sensory path ...

of the spinal cord * Posterior funiculus of the spinal cord * Funiculus separans of the

rhomboid fossa The rhomboid fossa is a rhombus-shaped depression that is the anterior part of the fourth ventricle. Its anterior wall, formed by the back of the pons and the medulla oblongata, constitutes the floor of the fourth ventricle. It is covered by a th ...

References

Neuroanatomy {{Neuroanatomy-stub